Shaded Light
by Chibi Cherry Blossoms
Summary: "I blinked again... He was actually looking at me, not the same way he was a minute ago but the same look... that angst but kind of lustful and thoughtful... yet demonic... and then he looked down and turned away, disappearing with the crowd of students." If you didn't believe in them before, you will after this. Prologue has proper summary in first chapter.
1. PROLOGUE

**PROLOUGUE:**

Before my story begins, I must tell you some facts that will contradict some of your thoughts of anything relative to my story: 1) vampires are truly, entirely, extremely, completely real. (Hold your fire, I'm not done yet.) 2) The term 'vampire' does not have a 'y' in it. (I mean, seriously who started putting the 'y' in there? It doesn't make the term look interesting, just…ugh.) 3) Vampires _can_ go out into the sun; it's just that during the Dark Age (where the thought of them spread) many vampires had extremely pale skin due to the lack of blood and sunlight and so they felt self-conscious and would go out mostly at night. 4) Dracula isn't a real vampire. (The author himself _was_ a vampire and had wanted the readers to believe his somewhat fictional story so that they would get off the backs of the non fictional vampires that were actually roaming around.) And 5) no, I am in fact not a vampire nor do I plan on being one anytime soon. So, here's the question that you might be asking yourself: why I am writing this book and, or, how do I know about any of this and should you believe what is written here? Well, whether you believe it or not is your decision. Should you keep reading, well I would like you to do so especially since you're the one who decided to pick this up and read it from the internet. But how do I know this? Well, you're about to find out. But first, my true facts about vampires that you are correctly thinking about: 1) vampires do drink human blood. (Before I continue, even though they do this, there is no reason to panic or worry because they don't want to _kill_ us they only want to _eat_.) (If the word 'eat' disturbs you then I am sorry but you will have to deal with it because I am going to be using this term quite often_._) There are 'vegetarians' who either drink on animal blood or drink from freezed blood bags. (These types of vampires don't want to harm humans.)) 2) Vampires do have fangs. (Are they huge, no, most are not. They're very much the same size and somewhat look of our canine teeth except that they are obviously sharper looking and can go through human skin.) 3) Vampires do have special saliva that allows us to feel no pain and/or remember anything when they feast on us. (Their saliva has a certain chemical in it that when their spit touches our skin, it numbs our nerves so that it cannot communicate to the brain. When this chemical enters your veins, it causes you to either not remember that they feasted on you and go back to the memory before the feast or you be in so much extreme pleasure that you wouldn't notice. Both depend on the situation that the host is in. You don't need to be a genius to know what the second one is for, unless you're not in high school or below (and if that's the case then you really shouldn't be reading this. Like, at all.). But going back to the saliva thing, some hosts are immune to that chemical and end up feeling and remembering everything. But, this is extremely rare.) 4) Vampires _always_ hunt at night. (Better coverage means less people will notice.) 5) Vampires are usually not _born_, they are _made_. Finally, 5) vampires are living among us. This is, however, depending on your opinion. Ever since the vampire literature rage, many readers have believed that vampires are living among us. But most people got the wrong idea about them. Are they creepy and dark and scary like Dracula? Not always. Are they mysterious and charming like Edward Cullen? Sometimes, except they don't sparkle. They are like you and me but with a different appetite, teeth, and spit, maybe even some of that mythical crap of floating and whatnot. Of course, I did not know any of these at first. Hell, I didn't even believe that vampires existed, or even elves, or dragons, or gnomes, or the lochness monster or Big Foot or any other mythical creature. My point in that I didn't believe in anything. Why? I just didn't. Then how did I come to believe in this crap? Well, this is why I am writing this, so that I can let it all out. Well, sort of… I'm kinda being forced to by a certain someone… But hey, who can blame me? It's not my fault my boyfriend decided to feast on me on our first date. The damn bastard. I hope you're reading this.

* * *

**_A/N Update: So, when I went on FF a little while ago, I had the urge to see if anyone still read anything I had posted and was surprised that I still do. This inspired me to finish it (I always had the intention to, I just had a mental block) but I wanted to re-read it to see where I left off and oh my lordie… You know those times when you re-read something you typed like 5-6 years ago and go "Oh gawd what the hell was I thinking"? Yeahh I had one of those moments. Sooo due to that, I'm rewriting everything a chapter at a time, starting with the prologue. If you're just starting with me, welcome! If you've stuck with me since I had started or ended this, thank you so much for staying with me; I really appreciate it. So, with that, I'm going to go and start rewriting the other chapters. Thanks so much again._**


	2. CHAPTER 1: Wake Up Call

**CHAPTER ONE: Wake Up Call**

As I watched the sun creep its red, orange light through my window, I kept thinking of the nightmare that has been waking me up for the past several nights. It was the same one every time: a forest, darkness, a dove, a dark, creepy laughter, a young boy, screams, blood. I never reach the end of the dream because before it ends, I scream bloody murder and wake up, finding that I've been crying again with beads of sweat crawling down my forehead. I narrowed my eyes in curiosity at a bird that flew onto a near-by electric pole several yards away from my home. I recognized it as a female cardinal, and as she began to sing her morning song I smiled softly. I shoved any thoughts that were fluttering though my head to the deepest corner of my mind and focused on her song. It had to be at the most five minutes before she looked around and flew away. The sun was just over the horizon by now, and I felt my drowsiness rolling over me again. Slowly, my eyes fluttered closed, my body relaxed, my breathing steadied, and darkness began to overcome me. Thoughts of the nightmare were long gone, and all I wanted was peaceful sleep again.

But of course, it was interrupted. As usual. I don't remember leaving my door unlocked, nor do I remember hearing my brother walking into my bedroom. But for whatever the reason was, I did feel a large weight lean itself onto the side of my bed and hear a large honking noise as he squeezed the blow horn against my ear. As a reaction, my eyes flew open and I immediately flung out of my bed unsuccessfully with a yelp/scream and fell on the floor panels head first with my legs still in my covers. As I cradled my head with my hands, I heard a booming laughter fill the room. I glared angrily at my brother as he clutched his stomach and continued laughing.

As seen already, Andrew is quite the 'joker', or so he thinks he is. He likes playing pranks on me, and only me actually. Since we're the only children in the family and all of his friends pull even bigger pranks on him when he tries, he figures that I'm the only vulnerable one that he can pull a prank on. Sadly, I pull pranks back at him without him even noticing most of the time; and they're bigger than his own pranks, too. Like the time he cut 8 inches off of my hair while I was asleep in 6th grade. Somehow, when he was washing his hair about 3 weeks after the incident, he didn't notice that he used our mothers' blonde hair dye instead of the shampoo and ended up having ugly orange hair. I don't know how it happened, really, I mean, how can you confuse your own shampoo with hair dye unless someone dumped out most of the shampoo and replaced it with some of the hair dye? Hmm.

For being a 'prankster', though, he isn't a bad person. Nor is he bad looking. And I'm not saying this because he's my brother. He's actually quite handsome to be frank. He has warm hazel eyes that has a slight tint of green in them and messy but straight auburn hair that's, strangely, soft to the touch. His hair used to be a light brown like mine but ever since the dye incident, his hair has been this color. Honestly, it suits him better; his eyes sticks out a little more. And his eyes are beautiful, being almond shaped. His hair is long enough that it sort of shapes his oval face, which is why his eyes stick out so well. He's pretty tall, too, at 5'9" which matches his figure completely. He has some muscle tone, but not enough that its Arnold Schwarzenegger built. It's the kind of built that doesn't freak people out with bulging muscles but also doesn't tell people he's weak. It's just enough for girls to love him and guys not to mess with him.

Unfortunately, I look a lot like him too, but only because we're fraternal twins. I have much longer hair that reaches my shoulder blades that is light brown with light green, blue eyes. They're usually mixed but my eye color isn't constant; they change depending on my mood. I have an oval face as well but with light freckles decorating across the bridge of my nose. They're very hard to see (thank goodness) and only a few people know of this. I'm pretty tall for being a girl, too- 5'7 1/2". I love being tall because it makes me stick out a little more than all the other girls, and besides it makes me look more intimidating than I really am. (If only my height worked on intimidating Andrew.) Unlike my brother, I have barely any muscle tone except in my legs and torso. This also gives me great legs, so I'm not afraid to wear short skirts or shorts.

We're also different personality wise. He has more of a playful, but careful kind of personality, and I have more of a sarcastic bitch personality, but also bubbly kind of. He's more of the charity kind but not empathetic; I'm more of a 'leave it alone' kind but extremely empathetic. He's the social kind, I'm more of the loner. He's not mature, but I am. He can't hurt a fly, I will if I have to. He can't make anyone laugh for his life, I can. Despite how much of a hypocrite we are and our differences, we get along pretty well. We help each other out a lot and both of us somehow have the same IQ level so we understand each other pretty well and have almost the same interests, too. It's those differences though that makes me want to _kill_ him sometimes. Like now.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled at him, still holding my head with one hand while lifting myself up with the other. His laughing began to decrease and he wiped away a fake tear from his eye. Taking a deep breath, he looked at me smiling with his amused eyes. "I had to wake you up _someh_ow; you've overslept nearly an hour." I looked at him with wide eyes. "What? What time is it?!" I demanded as I fell on the floor again as I rushed out of bed, forgetting my legs were still in my covers. He raised an eye brow at the pajamas I was wearing, which was just a baggy shirt and boy shorts, then shook his head saying, "It's almost 7. If you want to get to school on time I advise you get ready now and we'll stop at a fast food place to get breakfast or something." I grabbed the clothes that I had prepared on my desk for school and ran to the bathroom that connected both of our rooms and shut the door so I could get dressed."No, it's ok, I'll get something at the school instead. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I yelled through the door, nearly falling trying to get my clothes on.

"You usually don't sleep so late, so I figured that you were exhausted or went to bed late last night doing work," I heard him reply as I turned on the water to wash my face and brush my teeth.

"Yeah, 'ut you could'a woken 'e up at leas' a _little_ nicer d'an 'uttin' a 'ow horn right next 'o 'y ear," I spat out the foam and continued, "you nearly scared me half to death!"

"I tried nicer! I shook you a little bit and you didn't wake up so I thought I'd wake you up in a way you'd wake up and stay awake." As he said this, I knew he was probably smiling.

"Yeah, no kiddin'," I said with some difficulty, since I was brushing my teeth now while patting my face dry with the other hand.

"At least I woke you up and didn't leave you here, you should be glad of that." I spat out the foam left from the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth out with a cup of water. "True, father would've probably killed me if you didn't wake me up."

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, grabbing my hair brush to brush my extremely tangled hair. Ugh, why does my hair _have_ to be poofy today? Usually my hair is wavy, straight with a flip towards the ends but today…horrible. With no good results with my hair brushed and down, I decided to pull it into a ponytail because of how late I was and the horridness of my hair. As soon as it was pulled towards the top of my head, I let the band do its magic and it stayed in place. My hair, tied back, fell on top of my shoulders anyway. Quickly spritzing some perfume on my neck and body, I ran out of the bathroom to put on my sandals.

"About time," murmured Andie. He walked away from my bed, which I saw in the corner of my eye neat and made. That's another thing about him. He's neat, and I'm messy. Sort of ironic, since I'm more mature than him, but then again he is older than me by about a half hour, so I guess that's why he's neater. Who knows? "Come on, at least I'm ready on time," I spat as I buckled the side of one of my sandals. "Hey don't get feisty on me, ok? You're the one who got up late," he said casually, walking towards my bag and picking it up. I finished buckling my other sandal and stood up quickly to take my bag away from him. "You know how much I hate it when other people carry my things," I said hastily. Andie smiled. "Yeah, but we're also in a hurry. So go grab all your girly things and we'll head out." I turned around giving him a smart-assed look and a half smirk. "'Girly things'?" I mocked him. He gave me the same look back. "Yes, 'girly things'." I laughed and opened the door that lead to the living room. Andie chuckled with me as he followed me out.

I heard a few yelps and I gasped happily as I saw my white and brown faced haired terrier run towards me with a swinging tail. "Marcy! Good morning!" I said high pitched with a childish tone.

"Ugh… I still don't know why we still have that rat here…" Andie looked at her with disgust. That's another difference that I don't understand- Andie hates just about anything that looks similarly like a rat while I just love them all and the rest of the animal kingdom. Except bugs. I cannot _stand_ bugs. And yet, irony again, Andie does. In fact, he's so fascinated by bugs, that he has a wall collection of beetles, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, and other insects. That's why I try to avoid his room at all times.

I glared at Andie. "Don't call Marcy a rat. She's a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier. Isn't that right girl? Isn't that right?" I rubbed her ears in a sloppy motion that caused her ears to flop everywhere and she closed her eyes in affection. Of course she didn't really understand or care what I was saying but it didn't really matter as long as she was enjoying herself.

Andie stuck his tongue out at Marcy and I stuck mine out at him. "Audrey?" I heard a female voice call. I looked up at the sound of my name. "Coming mum!" I yelled as I picked Marcy up by her chest and torso, her feet flailing out in front of me. Andie continued looking at me in disgust until we reached the kitchen, where he gave his cheerful face. "Morning, mum," he smiled. Mum was working with something at the sink and she turned half of her body around to look at us smiling.

Mum is a beautiful woman with short, wavy dyed blonde hair and a lean figure. She has dark emerald eyes that always seem to have a kind of wisdom to them and rosy cheeks. Her pale skin has some color to it and she wears dresses most of the time with 1" flats. She's a pretty short woman, which Andie and I dare not to make fun of. We learned the consequences of that when Andie was in 7h grade and was surpassing mum. It's best not to explain that story; it's pretty ugly. But it's because of her sweet yet sour attitude that people love her. She has a lot of patience, which Andie has attained from her, that allows her to take her time with things or start late but somehow on time. An example of this is our last minute breakfast.

"Morning children, I made you guys breakfast for on-the-go," mum said, showing the frying pan in the sink. I looked a little to the right of her, towards the stove, and saw wrapped up some egg sandwiches with toast and two foam cups. "Aww, mum, you didn't have to do that," I complained as I put Marcy back down, but secretly being thankful. Mum grinned wider and turned back around to the dishes. "Well, I saw there weren't any dishes in the sink so I figured that you two haven't eaten breakfast yet. It's the least I can do for you." Marcy wagged her tail and yelped in agreement. Or I thought so, anyway. She might've been yelping because of the food. I don't really know. Andie walked over to the counter and picked up the two bags of food in one hand and tried balancing the two foam cups in the other. "Well, we'd love to chat some more mum but we woke up late so we're in a bit of a hurry." After seeing him struggle more a few more seconds, I sighed and rolled my eyes. Andie sometimes doesn't think before he acts, and anyone knows you can't carry two cups in one hand unless you're _dying_ to spill them. I walked over and took the two bags of food from him so he could carry the other cup. "He's right, mum. We're gonna be late for school." I looked up at mum and smiled. "Thanks for the breakfast by the way; it was awfully kind of you." Mum looked at me at the corner of her eye and smiled her kind of smile that showed that had that wisdom from her eyes, as if she knew something you didn't or that she was right, and nodded. "Anytime, honey." Andie by now was out the door and I heard him as he shut the screen door. He left the main door open, as usual. I groaned as I dragged myself over to the main door. "Have a good day at school!" I heard mum call as I opened the screen door. "You too, mum! Bye!" and I closed both the screen door and the main door. I knew she wasn't going to school, but I'm sure she knew what I meant. I heard an engine ignite and I ran over to where our car was.

Andie and I can both drive. We're both 16, so we have our licenses but we have to share a car because of the repression that we're in; things are expensive these days, which causes a hassle for gas and cars and stuff. Even food is getting expensive. Anyway, we drive a car that was still pretty new, in 'fashion', but also quite affordable- a teal Nissan Altima.

"C'mon, it's my turn to drive today!" I knocked on the driver's side. He looked at me, then turned up the volume to whatever he was listening to, which was some horrible rap song with a misguided beat. I groaned and yelled, "Open the door!" He gave me some hand motions that had something to do with his ears and mouthed to me, "I can't hear you." I glared at Andie, drifting my glare to my phone. It was 20 minutes till school began. I groaned again and stomped over to the passenger side of the car. I slammed the door closed as I slid in and crossed my arms. He smiled as he shifted from park to drive. "Aren't you going to put on your seat belt?" he said, matter-of-factly. I turned my head to give him a look of exasperation. "You really think I'm going to put on my seat belt every time you ask me to?" I asked bitterly. Andie's smile widened to a toothy smile. "No, but it's worth trying." After he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, I groaned again and buckled myself in. "See? It's not that bad now is it?" I heard him say sweetly. I glared at him again, but this time with my infamous, 'I am going to murder you in your sleep' glare. Andie laughed as he ran the yellow light.

With Andie's speeding, we got to school during the 10 minute bell and on time, miraculously. As we got out, Andie locked the car. I checked my hair in the side rear view mirror for the third time to make sure no stray strands are out of my ponytail then walked away towards the school. Andie watched me as I did this and sighed; he gave up questioning that. As we walked out of the student's parking lot, some neon purple Lamborghini with neon pink lights underneath raced by us and nearly hit us. It did hit my bag with enough inertia that it forced me to turn around 180 degrees. I checked my bag for any marks, and luckily there wasn't. Bubbly about that fact, I walked into the main building without Andie knowing I was almost hit.

Our school is pretty large but not as large as most schools are. It consists of two floors of which stairs are inside the building. The building itself is a pale yellow color in the shape of an 'L' with the student parking lot facing the back of it and the teachers/guest parking lot facing the front. The school is decorated with trees and shrubs and large windows; the windows are a new addition to the school so that we're more 'green' and make ourselves feel better about 'helping our planet', even though the world is going to disintegrate either way because humans would still be overpopulating the earth. But that's just my opinion. Other people, especially students, dislike the fact I think of it that way but hey it is my opinion, as it is their opinion. Anyway, our school is pretty nice looking on the outside and the inside with pale blue tiles and peachy walls. Each classroom has a large window facing outside so natural light can come into the room and not have to use electricity much. Yeah, we're trying real hard to become a 'green school'.

As we walked to our lockers, which are diagonal to each others, mine at the end of the block of lockers but middle of the three rows and his one row higher and one locker to the right of mine, I heard a guy call Andie's name. Andie looked past his locker to see who it was and I looked past Andie. The guy was pretty short and had black, curly hair with light, brown skin, and a very eye blistering white smile. He was wearing a long-sleeved white buttoned shirt with a black vest and blue tie similar to mine, Andie's, and everyone else's at the school with black pants and dress shoes. "Aye, C!" Andie called in a deeper, manlier voice. I could tell he was smiling, and why wouldn't he be? It was a good friend from middle school named Calhoun Lognestead, but he doesn't like his name much so he prefers you call him 'C', or as Andie calls him, 'AC'. No idea how that name was created, nor do I want to know. Andie pulled out one more book then slammed his locker shut, locking it as he did so. He left his right hand free so he could greet C 'properly' by grabbing each other's hands and slamming into each other's chest with their hands still interlocked, grunting. I can't help but to wonder how that could possibly be a greeting and why it's done every time I see it. I shook my head in disagreement and continued to search in my locker for my Math binder.

"Hey, Audio, do I get a hello or what?" I turned towards C with the same look I gave Andie earlier in the car; a look of exasperation. "Yes, of course, but I'm obviously busy trying to fish my binder out of my locker, and I told you how I don't like that nickname; it makes no sense." I went back to trying to pull out my binder as C laughed deeply. "Of course it makes sense! Your name is Audrey, and it's longer than Audio. Besides, you're pretty loud when you want to be." I pulled out my binder and looked at him with astonishment. "I'm what? I am _so _not loud!" I yelled. Andie laughed. "But you just proved it to him right now," he pointed out. I was going to say something else that would prove them otherwise, but the five minute bell rung and I had to run to the second floor for AP American History. I glared at C and Andie as I shut my locker closed, hearing it lock with a click. "We'll talk more about this later during lunch," and I stormed off towards the stairs, flipping my hair to add more effect. I heard them laughing off in the distance, and I couldn't help but chuckle myself. I am not loud, I thought to myself. They don't know what loud is. Idiots. I climbed the two flights of stairs and walked swiftly into my classroom. The room was directly next to the stairs, so it was pretty hard to miss.

As I walked in, I saw a number of students look at me in reaction to the door opening. I looked around to find a specific person and smiled as I found her. After a moment, she turned around to see who it was and she smiled widely, nearly falling to run and hug me from across the room. Kylie Stanford is a best friend of mine whom I've known since we were 3 years old. It's a strange relationship, especially since most girls don't have friends that long, but we've survived everything together and can't live without seeing each other every day. Kylie has even longer, straighter brown hair than mine that she styles everyday for school. She has dark blue eyes and a face that's very Egyptian like, elegant and beautiful. She has a lean, hour glass figure that attracts a lot of guys (not to mention her looks and brains) and somewhat tallness that she likes. She's taller than C but shorter than me, so it's around the right height at maybe 5'6". I set my books that were in my arms unto my desk and then opened my arms wide.

"Kazzy!" I yelled, smiling broadly. "Auzzy!" Kylie yelled in reply. Then we embraced each other with a big hug that dealt with a lot of jumping around in circles and moving side to side. By this time of the year, no one in the class saw the daily ritual as unusual or weird; not even the school questioned it. After we greeted each other, our teacher, Mr. Garcia, looked at us with a tiring look and sighed. "I cannot wait for the school year to end…"

He has short, almost military dark brown hair with a redness to it that is long towards the top of his head so it almost looks like he has bangs. (The way he styles it.) He has round, kind of chubby cheeks that looks much of a baby with light green eyes and a round nose. Despite the babyish looks to him, he was a pretty hot teacher with broad shoulders, some height to him, and a muscular body. In fact, he is the only reason why Kylie and I decided to take this class- we need _something_ to look at when we're bored with nothing to do.

Finally, after some chatting of what Kylie left out from yesterday's conversation, the bell rang and we sat down at our seats.

"Why didn't you get to talk to him? That was your chance!" I told Kylie as we were sitting down. Kylie went to the seat next to me. "I know, I know, but it's just that I never get the chance! You know, he's always with his friends, or, he's walking to his class, or, or he's already in class, or, or, or…"

"You're making up excuses-"

"Am not!"

"-and that's why you're not getting to talk to him! Your lack of confidence-"

"I am-!"

"-is getting in your way and that is why I'll talk to him for you."

Kylie's eyes went wide. "No… Please don't…"

"Ladies, if you're done with conversing with each other…" I looked up to see Mr. Garcia standing at his desk, with his right hand at the left side of his chest facing the flag pole. Realizing the Pledge of Allegiance was on the loud speaker, I repeated his motion and faced the flag, as did Kylie. When it was over Kylie walked to her seat that was across the room and sat down, a look of concern on her face. I sighed, took out my composition book, and almost opened my text book before I remembered about Mr. Garcia's reading quizzes.

Mr. Garcia lowered his hand and walked over to his stool, dragging it to the front of the class. "Alright, kiddies… Let's get ready for my lecture…. But first…" He opened the textbook that was on the student desk in front of him and opened it to the page according to the red ribbon marker, which was somewhere in chapter 19. "So… Who'd like to go up first?" No one answered or volunteered. "… Ok then, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because your thoughts never do matter and besides, it was more of a rhetorical question and so, with that, I choose…" He held the 'o' as he turned to look at my direction. I held my breath. I am ready this time, so go on and pick me, I thought to myself. He looked at all of the students in my area. Pick _me._ "… MR. KLEIN!" Damn it. I glared at Mr. Garcia with disappointment. He never, ever, picks me when I read. Or anyone else. Kylie looked as disappointed as I did, as did some other students. Except Stephan Klein. He looked nervous as hell. He's a scrawny kid who doesn't have the looks or too much of the brains but he is the shyest person that anyone will ever meet. He's also extremely nice.

"Mr. Klein, what is industrial capitalism?" our teacher asked, looking at the book. "Um… The w-world of factories a-and workers and m-machines and… stuff…" Mr. Garcia narrowed his eyes. "Mmm 'kay… Good." Stephan relaxed a little. Four more questions to go. "So, Mr. Klein, it says here that there was a dream of expanding the railways through the Pacific and Atlantic… Who was the major contributor to this 'dream'?" Stephan swallowed. "Uh… The… South…?" Mr. Garcia's eyes shifted from the book to him. "Are you sure?" Now Stephan looked panicked. "Uh… Y-yes sir…" Mr. Garcia kept that look for a while, and I swear Stephan crapped in his pants right then and there. Finally, he answered, "Correct!" and looked down again. And again, Stephan looked relieved.

After three more questions, Stephan ended up with 'C' because he missed two questions. Not bad for last minute reading. Mr. Garcia gives us mini quizzes every morning to make sure that we read what we were supposed to read the night before. If one only gets 1 question correct, that's obviously a fail. If one gets 2 it's a D; 3 is C, 4 is B, and 5 is A. If all five answers are correct, a bonus question is asked and that question is usually one that students rarely get correct; it's extremely hard because it's the one sentence we think is unimportant in the readings. After he asked two more students (who weren't Kylie or me) the five questions, resulting in a B and another C, the lecture finally began and he talked about the railroads and the factories and the immigration and all that good stuff. By the end of the class, we had finished the chapter. "Alright kiddies," Mr. Garcia sighed, "test next class. Bye." And the bell rang.

I waited at the door for Kylie then walked out, saying my good-byes to my teacher. "Please, _please,_ don't talk to him. That would be sooo embarrassing…" Kylie covered most of her face with her text book and I rolled my eyes. "The only reason I'm talking to him is because you're too chicken to talk to him yourself."

"Am not! I am confident! I'm just having trouble getting to talk to him…"

I groaned. "Oh, admit it, you just don't want to go through the trouble."

"That's not true! I _really_ want to talk to him!"

We turned the corner and bumped into a few rude students. In the process of wanting to slap them, I looked at the row of lockers to our right and smirked at what I saw.

"You do huh?"

"_Yes!_ I thought we established that!"

"So… You're gonna talk to him today?"

"Well, yeah!"

"How 'bout right now?"

"Um, sure I guess… If I get prepped..."

"Really? You promise?"

"Um, yeah… Where are you going with this…?"

I smiled and Kylie looked at where I was looking and gasped. The guy that Kylie likes is this cute senior who's got tan skin, black hair, and a great smile. He's got dark, almost black eyes and a _fantastic _body; he's on the cross country team and on the track team and, from rumors of course, he works out every day and has a six pack. (Only Kylie would know; she didn't see him change; she swears…) The guys name is Victor Tajo. We're not sure if he's Hispanic or not, we think he is, but when I first saw his last name, I thought he was Asian and ever since he has been nicknamed, behind his back, 'Asian Boi'. This is, of course, a little joke that I made up and it upset her so much at the time that I continued using it.

"Audrey, why do you do this to me? WHY?" Kylie said panicked.

I shrugged, keeping a smug look. "You promised. Now go talk to him."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can, he's alone, at his locker, and has been waiting for you to talk to him. Go."

"But-"

"Don't make me talk to Asian Boi." At this she looked at me flustered, and then groaned. We had stopped at the side of the hallway to discuss where Victor couldn't see us. After some time, though, Kylie took a deep breath and stormed over to his locker to talk to him. I watched from the wall with some hope. She walked behind him and reached out to tap him on the shoulder or something, and I held my breath. Go do it. Now is your chance. Go, I thought to myself. She hesitated. Do it! C'mon! Finally she withdrew her hand and went to turn away in defeat. I sighed. Maybe next time, I thought exasperated. As she turned around though, Victor had taken a step back and bumped into her, causing her books to splatter across the floor. The students walking by looked at the books and continued walking to class.

Victor looked back in surprise and had eye contact with Kylie, probably apologizing. He then said something else to her as she went to kneel down and pick up her books. He followed, and helped collect some of her things from the ground. (Which was a lot; she keeps most of her books and stuff in her arms instead of her bag.) As he picked up the last book, Kylie went to reach for it too and their hands touched. Honestly, I nearly puked. It looked too much like a typical, cheesy Hollywood romance film to me, and how often does reality actually do that? Not enough apparently. They held each other's gaze for a moment, then Victor broke it by picking up the book. Embarrassed, Kylie stood up with Victor and mumbled something. He smiled and gave her her books, saying something back. He turned to leave when Kylie said something. He turned around, sort of puzzled, and smiled saying something back. They shook hands and she said something that made him laugh. Still smiling, she said something that dealt with the students passing by and Victor nodded. He said something more and this made her smile brightly and nod, then both waved each other good bye. As Kylie turned away, Victor was still looking at her from behind, but now more like observing her, then smiling he turned away in the opposite direction. Wow. That was _not_ how I was expecting it to be…

Kylie walked to me smiling shyly but confidently, and when she stepped in front of me she squealed. Almost immediately I bombarded her with questions, asking what he said, what she said, what the laughing was about, blah blah blah. She answered with confident answers, saying that he was apologizing and offered to help and she said it was alright he didn't have to and then before he left, she asked him if she could have his name (even though she already knew) and he said it and she said her name and then she made a joke about how his last name was shorter than his first and then he asked her if maybe they could hang out during break and she agreed and then they parted. "Wow," I said again for the millionth time. "I wasn't expecting it to go that well…" She held her head high, causing her hair to swish and her earrings to dazzle in the light. "I know, right? I'm so proud of myself," she exclaimed. I laughed as we approached her next class.

"You know… He was checking you out." She turned to me astonished. "No way! You're lying!" I smirked. "Nope, honest to God. After you turned away he looked at you up and down, smiled, and left." I had not seen her in such high spirits before. "Really? You mean it?" I looked at her surprised. "Of course! Why would I lie?" She then squealed again and stopped in front of her next class. "Maybe this will go well after all!" she said, jumping up and down. I smiled. "Maybe… I gotta go though, my teachers strict." She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I know, I've heard… She's such a bitch." I rolled my eyes, too. "Tell me about it…" Then I heard the bell ring. "Or maybe not. I'll talk to you later, ok? Bye! See you after class!" and I ran through the hall without waiting for a reply.

Of course I was late for class, and I cursed myself for it, and as I ran through the hallway I nearly bumped into somebody. "Oh! Sorry!" I yelled and as I went to run past him, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back. I almost fell because of this move, but he held me steady so I wouldn't fall. "Wait, I need help t'ying to find a class. Can you help me, please?" Impatience was starting to come in and again, I apologized saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm late to class-" "Maybe we have the same one! Just look, please?" The guy who was asking me had medium length hair that was fiery red. He had gorgeous dark green eyes and a heavy Irish accent. He was obviously a foreign exchange student, and I couldn't help but to feel bad for him. I sighed and agreed. "Fine, but really quick." I looked at his schedule and he happened to have a class that was next to mine. "Your class is next to mine… I'll take you there ok? But try to keep up; the two teachers are total bitches if you're late." He nodded as if he understood and walked at my pace. It wasn't so far now and I thought I might as well begin a conversation.

"So… What's your name?" I asked.

"Brion. Brion Farquhar." I looked at him at a side glance with a look of some confusion. "O…Kay… That's an, interesting name…"

He smiled. "It's Irish; dat's why it sounds so weird."

"Ah, I figured that much. You're an exchange student?"

He nodded. "Yah, dis is me first day, ya know? Tis very confusin', dis school, I mean."

I laughed. His accent was just too funny. "It is isn't it? Yeah, it takes some time getting used to… I'm Audrey by the way. Audrey Steinbach."

He looked at me with astonishment. What was with this look today? "Like da famous writer?"

I laughed. "Kind of, except I'm nowhere near related to him."

"Ah, I see." As we approached our classes, I came up with an idea. "Do you mind if you go into my class for a bit so I don't get in trouble?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. I 'ave to thank you in some way," he smiled.

I smiled back. I had a good feeling about this dude. As I opened the door to my classroom, my teacher glared at me. "You're late," she spat. Then I put my acting skills into action. "But… I was helping a foreign exchange student… Look, see?" Then Brion, knowing his cue without ever telling him his line, popped his head next to me and waved.

"'ello, I wanted to make sure Audrey doesn't get in trouble… She 'elped me a lot, ya know?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Where you from?" she asked.

"Ireland. I'm stayin' fo' a half year." He flipped his 'r' when he said the last word and I tried extremely hard not to laugh with success.

She cocked her head to one side. "What part of Ireland?"

Almost immediately, he answered "Limerick."

In satisfaction, she nodded her head. "My grandfather went there once for a business trip…" I doubted her grandfather really did. "What's your name?"

"Brion Farquhar." She smiled and I wanted to stab her.

"That's an Irish name… Alright Ms. Steinbach you have an excused tardy. Lead him to his class and then come back."

I nodded. "Yes Mrs. Rhinard, thank you." And we walked out. When the door closed, I murmured "bitch" under my breath.

Brion laughed heartedly. "You really don't like 'er do ya?"

I shook my head. "No, not really." I looked at him and smiled. "You'll like Ms. Byrum, though. She's really nice, and she's a good teacher."

He smiled too. "I hope so. I enjoy European History quite a lot."

* * *

_**A/N: Woo-hoo, a chapter done! As you can see, I like long chapters, so I give long chapters. This one on particular was over 6,000 words. Yeah, I'm 'boss'... I'm never saying that again... Also, I hope no one thinks I'm racist or anything, because I'm not. I also hope no one gets offended by any jokes of the sorts. If you're offended, just know that it's not made to to upset anyone. It's just done for humor. Anyway, I just thought I'd put the first chapter now and then update it every week when I can. See, I actually have about 10 chapters done already but I want to keep you guys reading, so I decided to update a chapter once a week. So! Until then, read on! ~**_

_**A/N Update: Still in the process of rewriting everything. Give me some time. Thanks again.**_


	3. CHAPT2: Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

**CHAPTER TWO: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover**

After a dreadful hour of being in Mrs. Rhinard's math class, the bell rung for our 15 minute break. As soon as it rang, I placed my bag over my shoulder, murmured a 'good-bye' to the teacher, and ran to Kylie's Economics class. As I rushed over to her class, I saw Asian Boi passing by me. I smirked after he passed and continued towards Kylie's direction. I finally saw her through the sea of students, standing next to Andie, C, and Sandy.

Sandy Selman is someone we this year became friends with. As most people can imagine with that name, she has very short dirty blonde hair that seems to always look somewhat grainy. She has sun-kissed skin with sea blue eyes and freckles all over her face, chest, and the top of her arms. She's pretty busty and with the petite frame that she has, it looks likes she's always going to tip over or something, which is why she's pretty clumsy I guess. As Sandy saw me, she waved her hand rapidly in the air which caused everyone else (my friends and brother) to see me and wave, too. I smiled and started skipping towards them, moving my head to indicate going to our usual spot for break- the tree in the courtyard.

Every break, me, Sandy, Kylie, Andie, C, and a few other friends go under a specific tree in the front courtyard to just hang out and relax. No one is allowed inside during break unless they have permission from a teacher to go to the library or a teachers' class, but no one ever has a pass for the library and the school administration never does go up there officially to check so kids go inside anyway. We prefer the outdoors though, since we're inside most of the day and it's usually freezing inside. Today though, in particular, it was a little chilly because it was the last week of January. I say a little chilly because in Florida, especially Miami, it never gets too cold, however it can get hot even in the winter. And Florida weather is never constant. For example, the week before it was so hot outside that the school had to let the students inside before we had a heat stroke. However, within an hour, it became extremely cloudy and began to rain. After 10 minutes, the sun came out again and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And the week after, this week, it went from the high 90's to the low 70's. Yep, that's Florida for you.

As soon as Kylie and I had everything that we needed from our lockers, we left for the courtyard and I welcomed the sun with open arms, literally. "Ah, the sun… It's so wonderful, isn't it?" Kylie scoffed. "It's horrible… It causes heat and makes my hair go frizzy." I rolled my eyes. "Don't you mean that it _makes_ heat and _causes_ your hair to go frizzy?" asked Andie with a smirk. That's another thing with Andie: he likes to correct people, and be a smart ass, making him cocky. And because of that, Kylie turned her head quickly to him and snapped, "Shut up! You knew what I meant!" and Andie and C laughed, high fiving each other. Ugh, my brother and his friends' stupid greetings and stupid comments and jokes. It's so annoying...

We walked off of the sidewalk and onto the grass towards the second to largest fichus tree in the courtyard. The largest belonged to the seniors, and we didn't want to mess with them. The smallest tree belonged to the freshmen and sophomores because they suck and didn't really deserve a tree but we wanted to be nice so we gave them one (or at least that's what the seniors tell them to keep them in check). As we walked towards our little group under the tree, Kylie pulled me aside. "Hey, what're you-?" "We'll be back in a minute, I dropped something on the sidewalk," and Kylie pulled me back towards a bush near-by. Already I knew she was hiding from someone or she wanted to show me someone or something. As she stood casually next to a bush, seeming to look for something, I knew she wanted to show me someone.

"Alright, who is it?" I asked bored. She looked up at me and frowned. "How'd you know? And I thought you'd like to see this guy, especially since he's gonna be in your science class." I raised my eyebrows in interest. "Who? A new kid?" She smiled. "Gotta answer my question first." I sighed and exasperated and in one breath said, "I've known you long enough to know that you wanted to show me someone now show me the frickin' guy." Kylie rolled her eyes and glanced over to my left, nudging her head towards the direction. I bent down to seem like I'm searching for the thing too and glanced to see where she was looking.

There was a group of people there in a small circle, some standing and the couples sitting near them either making out, flirting, or conversing with the people standing. "Which one?" I murmured. Now looking under the bush, she said, "The one with no tie." I turned my head to her with an annoyed look. "They _all_ aren't wearing a tie." She sat up on her knees then, pretending to look around but really just glancing at the group, and said, "The one whose arms are crossed and has his shirt untucked." I glanced up again, and again they _all _had their shirts untucked but only one had his arms crossed, as Kylie had said. I couldn't really see him well, because of the distance and my not so perfect eye sight, but from the looks of it he seemed like a bad-ass with brown hair and fair skin.

"Who is he?" I asked, now moving my hands into the grass. "He's this new kid who came from New Jersey. From what I heard, he's got a bad record and wanted to try and get away from it so he moved here. He came with this foreign exchange student from Italy or something… Apparently he's of the same case." I frowned. "You mean Ireland?" A light bulb flashed. "Yeah! That was it, how'd you know?" I pushed myself to my knees and stretched out my torso and back by bending the middle part of my body around. "I met him while going to math. He needed help finding Byrum so I took him there. His name is Brion Fuqua-something… He can't be a bad kid. He was extremely nice when I talked to him. Besides, they wouldn't have sent him or any foreign exchange student here with a bad record." She shrugged. "You never know… But what cha gonna go with the new kid? I mean, he's gonna be in your AP science class…" I shrugged and stood up, helping Kylie. "I'll figure that out later when the time comes. If he starts messing with me or whatever, I'll bite his balls off and use them as a chew toy for my dog or something like that," I said casually. Kylie looked at me in disbelief but smiling. "My God, Audrey!" I shrugged and laughed as we walked to our tree, joining the rest of the group.

As usual, the 15 minutes passed by quickly and it was time for third period, which was for Kylie, Sandy, and me, art. As all of us began to depart, Sandy needed to go to her locker so we all followed her there. Sandy cheerfully skipped over to her locker (I mean it literally, _skipped._) While she was ahead of us by a few meters, Kylie looked disappointed and dragged her feet a little. Not knowing what to say, I watched Sandy skip along.

After she reached her locker, Kylie finally spoke: "He never showed up…" She looked down and she let her bangs cover her face. I sighed, knowing this was going to happen eventually. "Hey, cheer up. Maybe he forgot or something." She looked up at me teary eyed. "Forgot…? Audrey, I don't think he forgot, I think he doesn't like me, whatsoever…" Her voice was breaking. I felt a sudden pang of guilt and I tried to find something to say that would cheer her up, but failed to find one.

"Well… I don't think he'd just leave you there like that, I mean; he had to have forgotten… Look, I bet he's going to walk up to you before class to let you know that he forgot or had something to do or finish and that he's sorry." Kylie looked at me with those big pathetic puppy eyes, then she shook her head and started walking to class. I guess that made it worse… I don't see how though. Sandy walked up to me, after seeing the whole situation of Kylie walking away looking depressed, and asked me what was wrong. I stared at her for a moment, then Kylie, and shook my head saying that it was nothing to worry about and that she'll be fine the moment she walks into the classroom. She looked at me puzzled, and I all I did was smile as I watched Victor walk up to her and catch her attention so he could talk to her.

One thing most people know about me is that my predictions are almost always correct. If I assume that Saturday would be a perfect beach day, it happens. If I say that a dude is going to ask this chick out, he does the following day. If I say the frickin' sky is going to fall down and kill everyone on this damned earth, it's probably going to happen. Now, when I said that Victor was going to go up to her and apologize for not showing up and that he forgot and/or had something to do, I was right. The only thing that I was wrong about was the fact that he asked her to go see a movie with him, not a date but a get-to-know-each-other kind of date. I gapped at Kylie as she told me this with a kind of dreamy, happy countenance.

We were working on some clay mold and we were supposed to work in groups of two. Sandy wanted to work with a guy that she's been talking to for a while so she let us work together. The figure we were supposed to be making was a deer lying down. I myself was not the very statue-istic one but had good ideas while Kylie had the skills but not the good ideas, so we made a great team. The only problem was that Kylie was too busy day dreaming instead of working on the project that was 3 grades and due at the end of class.

"I can't believe he's already moving forward like that…" I frowned as I tried getting the clay to move with my hands. Kylie sighed and leaned on her elbow, holding her cheek with a muddy hand. "Yeah… I know…" I looked at her and gave her a look of resentment. "Hello, 3 grades clay project due at end of class here." I said quickly but with enough sharpness in my voice that it got Kylie out of her dream mode. Kylie rolled her eyes and groaned, leaning off her hand to show a muddy hand print on her cheek. "Okay, okay… What'd you need?" I showed her my plan on the paper I used to draw what I wanted. Even though I wasn't good with statues, I was artistic when it came to drawing real life stills. It's the only thing I can draw; that and cartoons. (The cartoons look way better though)

I explained to her what I had in mind and she smiled, nodded, and went to work; I made the fawn while she made the mother. By the end of the period we combined the two to make it a work of art and the two heads combined in one, just like what I envisioned. Er, sort of. Before we left, though, I made sure Kylie washed the clay off her face. "It's a good look on you, but I think you should leave it at home," I commented laughing at my ridiculous joke. Sandy and the guy she worked with had to do something with sports, so they did the one they both loved- soccer and surfing. They made a wave with a surf board on it and on the surfboard was a person kicking a soccer ball. It wasn't detailed, but it still looked good.

Sandy is a surfer, by the way- that's why she's so tan. The ocean is her air, and without it she can't breathe or live in general. She has lived the extremes, it being getting stung by jellyfish more than ten times, getting caught in a rip tide or two, and once getting bit by a Mako Shark. Yep, she's that in love with it. She wants to be a marine biologist and get a degree in marine anemology so she could study them. I say that she's going to get it, and I'm almost always right.

Sadly, it was time to part once again and as I headed for my English class, Kylie headed for her Science class and Sandy for her Math class. I sighed as I knew that Kylie and I would get separated because of different lunch times, but didn't really care so much about it; I dealt with that every day. As I walked into Ms. Leyches' class, I thought of what I should do for lunch; if I should go to a fast food restaurant to eat or if I should stay at the school to eat. Kind of walking unconsciously, I slunk into my seat and rested my head on my hands. By now, I was just thinking to be thinking, which actually happens a lot in this class. I love the teacher, she's fun, but a lot of the kids in here are kind of rude and, well, not my crowd of people. There wasn't anyone I could really talk to in this class who wouldn't look down on me or talk bad behind my back. If anything, there might have been this one girl but she left the class about a week ago and-

"Excuse me, do you know if anyone's sitting here?" I woke up from my thoughts with a jump and blinked to see who was talking to me. "Um, I'm sorry, what?" The guy who was asking was pretty tall with a kind but stern look to him at the same time. "I asked if anyone is sitting there. If not, do you mind...?" I blinked again at his politeness. "Uh, no, no not at all, please, sit down…" The guy nodded in respect and placed his bag on the other side of the desk that was next to mine.

The guy was pretty cute, no, more like _hot_. He had ear length, wavy brown hair that when in the light it had a shine of red to it, a gorgeous color that was actually similar to mine. He had some stubble of where he should have shaved and his eyes were of a light color, but it was hard to see the exact color. He also had a kind of glow to his pretty fair but tan skin, and he seemed toned. He also had an angular face, which increased his hotness to another level and, best of all, he had a kind of bad ass look to him that showed that we could beat up anyone at this school if he chose to. Some of the features seemed familiar but I ignored them and continued in my thoughts until the bell rang for fourth period to begin.

Ms. Leyches was a beautiful young woman who could actually pull off being a student from this school; she was in her early 20's and looked liked she was 18 years old. She had medium black, wavy hair that ended between the beginning and middle of her back. She had a cat like look to her because of her almond shaped eyes and small, pointy nose. Her face was also heart shaped and she kinda has a long neck, but it's from dancing for so long. She's pretty short, shorter than me, but has a big personality that's shown all over her classroom and clothing.

"Alrighty! Now that we're in our desks," Ms. Leyches looked at a particular student who was walking across the room to his own seat, "and finished conversing… I'd like to present our new student to the class. Why don't you stand up here in front of the class? Don't be shy." The guy who sat next to me sighed and waited for a second. Then he stood up, tucking his hands in his pockets, and walked to the front of the class. "Great! Now, I'm going to interrogate you in front of the class now! Ready? Too bad let's go!" And she turned away to sit at a near-by stool. The classroom laughed at this and so did the kid, actually. At least he had a sense of humor.

"Okay, so, why don't you tell us some basic things about yourself?" she asked, sitting down with one leg crossed over the other and leaning her chin into her hand, the connecting arm attached to her leg that was on top. "Okay, well, my name's Aaron Blad-sauge-er and I moved here from Columbus, Ohio. I am, obviously, a junior here and I guess that's about it…" Aaron looked at Ms. Leyches with uncertainty. She smiled.

"What's your favorite color?" Still looking at her, he replied, "Violet."

"Oooo pretty… How about your favorite number?"

"17."

"Your favorite subject?"

"Would I get in trouble if I answer other than English?"

She and the class laughed. "No, you won't get penalized." He smiled, and, wow, he has a really beautiful smile… "Then I'd have to say that it's math." A lot of students didn't like this and a lot of 'ews' and 'ughs' traveled around the room. I stayed quiet and rolled my eyes at the other students. What's wrong with liking math? I mean, yeah it can be disgusting at times but math is essential to life so get used to it people. God, the people here are so stupid it aggravates me… Aaron smiled a little wider now into a toothy grin and looked at the class, his eyes gazing at everyone in the class. When he looked at me, his smile faded ever so slightly and there was something in that look… I don't know, maybe angst or something, but it disappeared as soon as it came and he winked at me, then looking at the other students, laughing deep chimes. "What's wrong with liking math? It can be gross at times but… C'mon guys, math is essential in life!" Huh, that's what I thought...

Cheerleader number 7 (I can never remember their actual names) then said, "Yeah, but it's, like, so much wooooork… I think that, math, should be, like, illegal or somethang…" and continued chewing her gum slowly while twirling her hair. Dumb-ass.

For a quarter of the period, Ms. Leyches dedicated the time to introducing Aaron to the class. After that, Aaron sat back down to his seat and we began to prepare for the lesson of the day. As she gave us our pop-quiz on the pages we were to have read the night before, Ms. Leyches took Aaron to the back of the class to show him what he needs and what we were doing in the class right now. I was done with my quiz within five minutes and looked up to see if anyone else was done, which was stupid because no one ever is. I sighed and looked at the white board ahead of me, tapping my index finger on my desk. During times like this, I feel like I have a huge attention problem, like ADD and ADHD, not being able to focus on one thing for too lomg and wanting something to do. Every noise, every movement… Everything just starts to annoy me to the point I want to scream. My impatience doesn't help with the matter either. My tapping moved from my finger to my leg. I felt myself glare at the white board, cursing it for its whiteness and, well, board-ness.

This went on for at least another three minutes until the teacher asked if anyone was done. First, I had to have jumped at least 2 inches into the air do to the sudden outburst; I say only 2 because of the restraint on the desks. After that, I raised my hand. I could tell she didn't see me jump because if she did she'd be laughing her ass off right now. Shockingly, another person was also done, another cheerleader whom I call Bully #2 but calls herself Sarah. Ms. Leyches, not seeing my hand, called her instead of me to help Aaron out with all the work. She looked like she'd been given a million dollars and nearly tripped running to the back of the room. I pitied Aaron, if only he knew how much of a dumbass she was… Oh well. It's his problem, not mine. Thank God. As I watched her walk happily to the back of the room, I glanced at Aaron who was looking in horror at the girl. At least he's smart, I suppose. He looked at me with a look of desperation, as if saying, "Please, you help me instead of her" or something of the sort. Even though I'm a sarcastic bitch, I do feel guilty very easily and I knew that I had to get away or else I would do something stupid, for instance call the teacher and ask if I can help instead. In this class, that would be the last thing that needed to get added to the list of things that 'made me weird'.

I looked away and pretended to be looking for something in my bag. I still felt his gaze on me and I wished oh so badly at that exact moment that my hair wasn't in a ponytail and that it was down instead. Thankfully, he looked away after a few seconds and I heard him walking to the back of the room, where Bully #2 was. I sighed in relief and actually found myself wanting to read, so knowing I'd get in trouble if I took out either my vocabulary book or the book I'm reading for class, which is Twilight, (I would be massacred by my teacher) I pulled out my American History textbook instead and started reading the pages I was supposed to read for next class. Unfortunately I got bored within 6 seconds (that's a record) and found myself eavesdropping on Aaron's and Bully #2's conversation.

Now, I usually don't eavesdrop because I feel guilty immediately but just a half a sentence that Aaron said caught my attention. "… and so, I want to make you my acquaintance… Is that alright with you? I mean you don't have to… Oh, that's good, thank you, you're so kind…" I furrowed my eye brows. Well that was a little weird... What happened to his desperate look of not wanting to be near her? Plus it sounded more rhetorical than actually asking her. Er, not that it mattered… I had such an urge to turn around and ask him what he was talking about. But I had to remind myself: You're not supposed to be listening, Audrey. It's rude, remember? Somehow this sounded like my mothers' voice and I groaned, bending forward enough that my head rested on my arms.

I heard footsteps walk towards me and a pat on my back. "Audrey, are you alright?" I lifted my head up to Ms. Leyches and smiled. "Yeah, don't worry… Just tired, that's all," I half lied. That wasn't why I did that, but I was very tired so I found a loop in my lie. That's another thing: I _hate_ lying, and I never lied after the age of 11 when it caused the heart attack of my father. Since then, I've always told the truth. Anyway, away from my past and back to the present, I looked at the clock and saw it was in fact fifteen minutes until next period, which was lunch. I also saw that I was five minutes late. "Um, Miss, may I use to restroom so I can try and wake up?" I put on a tired expression as I looked up at her. She, pitying me, nodded and gave me the pass that was around her neck. I smiled weakly, thanked her and walked slowly to the door, rubbing my eyes as I did. As soon as I walked out the door and heard the door close, I ran to the ladies bathroom that was in between my class and Kylie's. As soon as I reached there, I opened the door and went face to face with a very surprised and scared Kylie. "Oh my God! Don't _scare_ me like that! What took you so long?"

After about three minutes of explaining the new kid, Aaron Bluatsauger, (I saw on his paper he spelled it like that) I told her about the weird look he gave me in class and what he said that caught my attention. She looked at me as if I was crazy. "You sure he gave that kinda look? I mean, you are paranoid…" I shook my head. "I swear, Kylie. I don't know what it is but, it's just…weird… And what he said, that's a little creepy too. I mean, the guy is as hot as a Greek God but-"

Kylie's head perked up, her body straightening. "You never mentioned him being hot," she smiled. I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't matter too much at the moment, but-"

"What does he look like?"

I sighed. I just know she won't let this go until I tell her. Why does she have to be so persistent?

"Well," I rubbed the back of my neck, "he's fair I guess, kinda tannish with reddish brown hair and he's pretty tall too, like close to 6 foot or something. I don't really know because I never stood next to him so I could compare."

She looked at me with such a dreamy look, I thought she was asleep until she spoke. "Ooooh… He sounds handsome…" she said dreamily.

I looked at my phone and saw it's been roughly seven minutes. "Hey, Kylie, I'll talk to you after lunch ok? It's almost time for my lunch and almost time for class for you." She pouted at me. "It's not for another five minutes…" I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but I have class and I told Leyches I was just washing my face, which reminds me…" I walked over to the sink and splashed my face with cool water, then I patted my face dry. Damn pimples, why must they be so sensitive? I looked at Kylie and asked, "Does it look obvious enough?" She laughed and nodded. I then hugged her good bye and ran to class, hoping nothing important happened in the last almost ten minutes. I got to class with a tiring look on my face again and walked to my seat. Miss didn't even notice I was gone for so long; thank the heavens.

The only problem was that she did say something important and it was the answers to the quiz. Of course no one was paying attention so they couldn't give me the answers, Miss said she couldn't give them to me either, and so I saw that I was screwed. Were the answers very important?Well, no, but the answers told me if I got an 'A' on my quiz or not and that's what was important to me. As the bell rang, the morons in there mindlessly walked out of the classroom while my teacher grabbed her lunch and ran out. I looked around the room to see if anyone else cared and sighed. I bent forward so I could grab the shoulder strap of my bag and pulled it up. Then I grabbed my binder and textbook and started walking out of the classroom, pitying myself for a stupid reason and being a little angry at myself for feeling like that.

"Hey, you left something," I heard a soft voice. I froze at the spot. I would've sworn that no one else was in the room with me. I turned around and, oddly enough, found Aaron at my desk picking up a book. It looked like my 'Vampire' book. I don't remember leaving it there- oh wait. That's right; I had pulled it out to study before the quiz. I guess I forgot about it. I smiled and began to walk over there when he shook his head, "It'd be a waste of energy if you walk back here then out again; here I'll just walk to you since I'm already heading out, too." And blinking, I obliged to it by nodding.

He gave me my book and asked if he could eat with me, since today was his first day and he knew absolutely no one and, even though he doesn't know me either, he exchanged that with the answers to the quiz. That was a done deal as soon as he spoke of it and I walked to my usual lunch spot that was in the library. Our library is the nicest room out of the entire school: there's a beautiful, small water fountain, little sitting couches, chairs, tables, lots of computers, and a nice, big room to have it all in. A perfect place for lunch. As soon as I walked into the library with Aaron, Andie turned to look at me and for a second he smiled, then it disappeared as soon as it came. That was _not_ a good sign. See, although Andie is very patient, he also has a bad and short temper. You mess with his temper, you're in huge trouble. Now, what did Aaron do that Andie is controlling himself, I don't know. But Aaron didn't seem like he noticed anything.

"Hey Andie," I chirped happily, giving him a hug. He didn't budge. "Audrey… Who is that…?" he murmured. I looked up and saw him looking at Aaron. "Oh, he's a new student in English. I wasn't there to get the quiz answers so he wrote them down for me and since he's new, you know, I thought maybe he could join our lunch group…" I looked at Andie with hopeful eyes, being more hopeful of him not already disliking a kid he doesn't even know yet. Andie kept his stare at Aaron, then turned his face towards me, not letting his gaze leave Aaron. "Audrey… I don't trust him… I don't know what is it about him but I don't," he whispered to me. I looked at Aaron, who when I looked at him turned his head so it looked liked he was looking at the fountain the whole time. I sighed and turned back to him. "Andie," I whispered back, "there's no reason why you shouldn't trust him. He's a good kid, trust me ok?" Before he could respond, I kissed him on the cheek and walked towards Aaron. "C'mon, you can sit next to me," I smiled.

"I'm sorry if I caused any trouble with your boyfriend…" he mumbled. I laughed. "Oh no, he isn't my boyfriend, thank God too. No, he's my twin." He looked at me shocked. "He's your twin?" I nodded proudly, still smirking. "Wow, I would've never thunk…" I looked at him slyly. "Yeah, a lot of people say that about us. But if you look carefully, we actually frighteningly look alike." I gasped and gave him a sarcastic look of shock. Aaron laughed, and Andie just stared him down.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

When lunch ended, I showed Aaron around the school, since the time between lunch and class was ten minutes. I showed him where his next class was and where his class would be after as well. During that time, I started warming up to him more as he did with me. Andie couldn't take him anymore so he left as soon as lunch ended, mumbling he'd see me in 6th period. I felt bad, I really did, but he can't control me or my life simply because he doesn't like someone, especially if there isn't a reason behind it. Besides, Aaron is really a nice kid, not to mention handsome. For now, he looks like someone who's datable; for now. Another thing was that he was funny, and actually had some charm to him. He made me giggle. Only a few people can do that. I mean, I laugh a lot, but not giggle. I guess that's why when Kylie saw me giggling, her eyes grew wide and she blinked several times, making sure that it was me.

"Aye, that's so cruel but sooo true!" I giggled, wiping a tear from my eye. He laughed with me. "Yeah, I wish I could say that I made up the joke myself but I can't; my friend from Ohio thought of it before I did." I chuckled off the rest of the giggle and looked up, seeing Kylie just gapping at me. I smiled, then looked at Aaron. "Hey, I have another friend you could meet if you want." He smiled, saying, "I'd love to, but I don't want to be late for class… I'm going to be honest and say that I'm a bit of a goody-goody so, yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. Shucks. Guess he isn't a bad boy after all. Well, it was good 'till it lasted. I waved Aaron good bye and as soon as he left my side, Kylie ran up to me.

"Audrey, why were you laughing? And why were you talking to him of all people? What the hell?"

I looked at her surprised that she actually said 'hell'. "It's not a big deal, God… He's in my English class so I thought it'd be nice if-"

"HE'S IN YOUR ENGLISH CLASS?"

I looked around. "Shhh! Quiet! Yes, what's the big deal? First Andie now you..."

She looked at me with disbelief. "Did I not show you during break the kid you should be careful of?"

I frowned. "What…"

She grabbed my shoulders. "Audrey, that was him; the guy that I told you about? The one who got in trouble at school for something serious? Yeah, and now you're talking to him. That's just great."

I blinked. "Wh-what…? No, no way, you're just overthinking it. He's honestly a nice guy-"

"Nice? Is that what he told you?"

"You're being ridiculous-"

"Am I? You were the one who told me about the weird stuff that happened in English. Maybe you should reevaluate your relationship with him."

I blinked again, then looked at the direction Aaron walked off. He was actually looking at me, not the same way he was a minute ago but the same look he gave me in English- that angst but kind of lustful and thoughtful look, yet demonic looking with the shadows cast on his face- and then he looked down and turned away, disappearing with the crowd of students.

* * *

**_A/N: Ooookie, soooo what'cha guys think? Just in case people don't know, in the States, there's a program that are for students in high school taking college level classes called Advanced Placement, or AP. I forgot to mention this in the last chapter and realized not everyone knows what that is, so now you know! Yaaay! Also, let me know of any grammer mistakes. I am a 'grammer nazi' (as we call ourselves) when it comes to literature but even I sometimes make mistakes. If you guys have any questions about anything you don't understand (as long as it deals with the story and not what's going to happen in the story later on; I'm not spoiling anything!) just ask. :) ~ _**

**_A/N Update: I changed the names of the girls who are in the class because I thought the names I used before were actually really mean and degrading, so I changed them to what the girls really were in Audrey's mind (which are dumbass chealeaders and bullies in this case). I also made Audrey not so dramatic and a little more logical than what I had previously put... Lemme know what you think. Thanks. ~_**


	4. CHAPTER 3: Bad Habits

**CHAPTER 3: Bad Habits**

As I drove home, I thought about what Kylie and Andie said earlier, how they didn't think Aaron was such a good person and that they didn't trust him... I didn't think that was true, especially since he was such a gentleman holding the door for me and everything, but then again books can't be read by its cover. So, what should I believe? That he's a goody-goody or that he's a crook? Then again, what gave them the right to think so cruelly about him?

As these rhetorical questions came to mind, Andie finally sighed in the passenger seat and turned down the radio. "Ok," he started, "you're never this quiet for half the car ride home, what's wrong? Something either happened to you or something has been bothering you."

Damn, he always gets it square on the nose. I sighed, closing my eyes for a brief moment then opening them again to watch the road. "No, it's nothing major but yeah something has been bothering me... It's that new kid, Aaron. Kylie says he's some kind of bad guy 'cause he did something at his previous high school but he doesn't seem like it, I mean, he seems like such a gentleman and he's kind and… I don't know. I mean, you don't trust him either so I don't know what to think."

I heard Andie chuckle. "Well, it's your opinion; don't let your judgement be based off of us. Besides, there's no proof that he was or not." He paused for a moment, "Unless…"

I gave him a sideways glance, just enough to see him smirking, then returning to the road to see where I'm driving, and back to him repeatedly. "Unless what…?" He turned to look at me. "Unless we look him up on the United States profile page." My eyes widened and I felt the car hit a curb and I woke up from the shock, fixing the car back to the road. "Andie, we are NOT hacking again."

Although Andie is a goody-two-shoe, he loves using his brain. He first figured out how to hack in middle school, hacking into the grade book to change some of his grades. Then he went farther in by hacking a game called World of Warcraft. After that he hacked into the school itself in eighth grade. After those 'little shots', he tried the big guns and hacked into the official Government website itself without getting caught his freshman year of high school. However, he was almost caught because of the type of computer he was using and the consistency of using the same one. After all that, when I found out he was almost caught, he promised he wouldn't hack into any system unless it was a serious situation, and was an emergency with my permission. Now, he was asking for it.

"Please Audrey, you want to know about him and I want that adrenaline rush and-"

"Oh, so it's like a drug now?!"

"No, no! Not at all, sis! That's not what I'm saying! Look, I just want your permission-"

"To hack into the government, yeah, I know. But Andie you were so close to getting caught-"

"I was a freshman! I'm a junior now!"

"Yeah, but Andie…" There was a stop sign so I stopped, leaning my head against the steering wheel. "Just… When they called about the money mortgage I felt that you were so close to going to jail… And if mom had answered you were going to be a goner…" I looked up at Andie, feeling my eyes sting and water slightly. I held all of it back though, but kept my expression of worry and determination. "Andie, I just don't want you to get in trouble." Andie put his hand on mine, which was on the stick. "I won't, just think how much I've kept my promise for so long; I haven't done anything without asking you. So please, I'm asking…" I felt like something was holding my vocal chords back from speaking. I couldn't speak; I was just so frightened of something happening to him… What could I say? He wants to so bad, but I couldn't allow him to, especially for such a petty reason. So, to show a response, I shook my head and kept driving past the sign, feeling my brothers' once hopeful spirit drown under all of his sadness and slight anger.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

_A quick side note: Something that I should explain about really quickly is how empathetic I am. Seriously, I can usually feel what the other person is feeling emotionally at the exact moment I'm near them. I don't know why and I know it seems weird but it's oddly useful, for example I know that my brother is extremely pissed at me right now and I should tread carefully. At other times, however, it sucks because it can affect my moods sometimes, for example like right now. I know, it seems stupid, but you're the one reading this so obviously you're interested in some way._

_I guess while I'm here I might as well explain another odd feature about myself: I can predict the future using my dreams. Now, before you think about how ridiculous I am and whether or not I'm insane, this is actually not that uncommon. Lots of people are known to have seen into the future through their dreams while they were asleep. (Look it up, I'm not kidding!) A lot of times it has saved their life and other times it has shown a significant event in their life. For me, I usually have these dreams when something very important is going to happen in my life and they usually come as nightmares... Yay me... It's actually really interesting, and I suggest you, the reader, look it up sometime when you're done reading this. Or right now. Or never. Whatever you want..._

_Anyhow, Let's get back to my life story, shall we?_

_I believe we were at the part where my brother is pissed at me._

_*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*_

When we got home, I felt a rise of anger fill me and, while I tried to push out the emotion that I realized wasn't mine, I stormed out of the car and into the house. "Mum! You home?" I yelled, unlocking the door. My parents' car wasn't there, so I assumed she wasn't but I wanted to check anyway. No answer. I opened the screen door and a wooden door leaving it open for Andie. He slammed the screen door closed, but the wooden door stayed opened. I looked at the door then Andie with an exasperated look. "Really?" I asked him, and I walked to the door and closed it sighing. He scoffed. "Not like it matters anyway, I never make you happy even when I keep my promises." I rolled my eyes. Here he goes again.

"I don't want you hacking into the government! It's not right, Andrew!" He narrowed his eyes; he knows I don't use his full first name unless I'm serious about something. "And it's not right for the government to keep all of these secrets away from us which is why they need hackers like me. Besides, you're the one who asked how to find out more about that new criminal guy-"

"He's not a criminal!-"

"How do you know, Audrey? What, you suddenly have powers to see through people and who they are? You've got enough weird going on as it is."

Knowing what he was talking about, I tried very hard not to smack him right then by tightening my jaw. "Don't you dare go on making fun of my nightmares. Every single one of them has gone true so far and you know it."

He scoffed again, this time loud enough that it was more of a fake laugh. "Yeah, and like that's completely normal! Doesn't that show you enough that you have bad judgment?"

I glared at him and spat, "At least I never dated a whore, unlike someone."

I regretted the words as soon as I said it, but didn't want to take it back. Andrew's ears and face turned red. "You _know_ we're to never speak of Cherry again…" he spat back through gritted teeth. I narrowed my eyes. Of course I knew I was about to cross the line but I didn't care right then. I just wanted to hit him where it hurts. And if I couldn't physically, then emotionally would have to do. "What, did she really hurt you that bad that now you can't even talk to another girl without holding back? C'mon, Andrew. Even _I_ knew she was bad news from the start."

"Audrey…" Andie warned.

"I did try to warn you; Even her _name_ gave it away!-"

"Audrey."

"-And every one at school knew she was a whore! But did you listen? Oh no! You couldn't! Because she was your first love and all that jazz-"

"Audrey…!"

"-and then you 'loved' her so much-!"

"Audrey! I'm warning you…!"

"What? Am I going too far? 'cause you certainly did!" Andrew pushed me against the wall with one arm and pinned me to the wall.

"Why can't you keep your mouth shut?!" he yelled.

I kept looking at his glare, trying to ignore the fact that my back was now hurting, and I kept my hands on his arm that was pinning in a light. Ugh, why oh why did I have to push his button? Now I'm caught up in this shit. He continued glaring at me as I thought of a reason, and after a moment Andie put a tighter grip on my forearm and released slightly, as if to remind me that he was waiting, and I came up with something so he could understand. As easily and slowly as I could, I said to Andie a line mom uses a lot that calms him down: "Because you have to look at your future, by remembering your past, and moving on…"

Andie's facial expression was still fierce, but his hazel green eyes soften, and he, I think, finally understood why I wanted to protect him so much, why I was so consistent. And little by little, his body eased up, his hold on me being the last to do so. As soon as he lessened his hold, I felt a large pressure release from my chest, both one that was physically done and emotionally. I sighed and slid against the wall onto the ground and sat myself down against the wooden floor. As I stared at Andie's ragged tennis shoes for a moment, I began thinking that there _must_ be a better way to calm Andie down than to yell at his face so that he would listen to me then tell him that common quote of our mothers' while he is trying to strangle me. Really need to fix that anger issue first, though.

I sighed again and leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes momentairly before looking up to my brother. "Why must you _always_ get upset at the most stupidest things?" I watched him lean over and squat on the floor next to me as gently as he could, his knees bent. "I don't know, I thought you'd know by now." I chuckled and shook my head, looking up at the ceiling fan. "Nope, I've known you all my life and I still don't know." Andie chuckled at this, and it stayed quiet for quite some time. Finally, Andie spoke: "You wanna go to BK or something?" I looked at him and smirked. "Sure, but I get first dibs to drive there and back." I got up almost immediately after saying so, helping Andie up as well, and grabbed my purse as Andie sighed, meaning he agreed to the deal. After all that, the two of us almost completely forgot that the whole fuss ever happened. Almost. Almost because we knew it happened, we just don't want to mention it. So, we'll just forget about it with Oreo Milkshakes and double whoppers. Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe with a large bucket of fries, too. Oh, yeah… What just happened again?

* * *

**_A/N: I'm sorry for the short, crappy chapter... You'll see why I put this up later on. I want to thank those who have reviewed so far. You're all so kind! :"3 (blushing kitteh face, teehee!) To my first reviewers, I give you all a big hug with a Girl Scout Samoan cookie! (This is my first fanfic, so I'm actually really flabergasted, haha. = VwV =) If you don't know what they are, look them up on Google. Your taste buds shall have an orgasim in your mouth. (If you like coconut) So. Freaking. Good. o.o You can only get them during Girl Scout cookie season though! :DD_**

**_Oh, and to respond to one of my reviews: x Red Blood Lies Love x, I actually didn't know that the anonymous reviews was disabled. I'm glad you suggested that, haha. It's enabled now. xDD I'm glad you like Aaron! :DD To everyone else who reviewed! DangerouseLove , Sexy Paranormal , xPaiige and the Starsx , killer-kelly420 , thank you so much and I shall update soon! (And Aaron is purtty hot, hehe. Especially in my mind, he's eye candy. ;DD Hahaha!) I just want to lengthen the story over a period of weeks! If I upload all of them now, then it'll take me even longer to post up the chapters! At the moment, I just finished another chapter to it, but I am at a writers' block. D: I'm sure I'll get out of it soon, but don't worry! You have many a chapters to go before you get to my writer-block chapter! Haha, until then, happy reading! And I apologize for the short, crappy chapter again. I promise the next one will be better and with some humor and not so much drama. :) ~_**

**_A/N Update: Ok, this was the one of the couple of chapters that REALLY irked me. Like, seriously. After rereading it, I saw its potential and was largely disappointed with myself. But, I fixed it better now, so hopefully it's better for you guys too. I dunno, if you read this before and are reading this now, lemme know what you think of the changes. Thanks again. ~_**


	5. CHAPTER 4: I've Got A Feeling

**CHAPTER 4: I've Got a Feeling…**

I woke up to Andie shaking me and me screaming bloody murder for the third night in a row. Andie shook me fiercely, calling me while doing so until my eyes flew open. Gasping for air, I searched around my room in the dark, looking at my surroundings. I realized that I was in a familiar place, my room and bed, and that Andie was with me. I stared at him for a few seconds and saw his extremely worried expression. As I realized he was with me, I realized also that I was crying streams upon streams of tears. I began to choke on my tears and as I tried to explain why everything was happening, why I was crying, why I screamed, why I am so frightened, he shushed me, holding me to his chest and rocking me back and forth slowly and softly, as if with a small child, trying to calm me down, to soothe my fears.

He held me like for what seemed like an eternity, in a good way though, because something about him always made me calm down and feel safe… And I did. I calmed to a soft sob and started feeling drowsy. I turned my head away from Andie's chest and to the alarm clock next to my head, which read 2:19 AM. Still hiccupping, I sighed a shuffled breath and rubbed my head against Andie again, realizing now it was bare and wet from my tears. "I-I'm sorry I w-woke you u-up," I hiccupped. "I'm a-also s-sorry I got my tears and s-snot on you." I felt Andie nod his head and his chest vibrate, "There's no need to be sorry… Just relax, that's what you need right now…" I shook my head out of Andie's chest and wiped my tears away with one hand. Looking up, I saw dark, tired circles under Andie's eyes and an even more tiring countenance.

"N-no… It's not fair t-to you… I just had a r-really bad dream, that's all… I-I'll get over it…" He narrowed his eyes in deep thought. "You know you're a bad liar... You've been waking up to these nightmares a lot lately though… I've been hearing you." I widen my eyes. I didn't know he could hear me… He smiled very softly. "I haven't told anyone, don't worry. Not even mum. But, tonight seemed like it was worse than usual… You actually screamed for…" He looked down, trying to avoid eye contact and moved uncomfortably. I swallowed the best I could, still hiccuping. "F-for whom…?" He looked up, the moon hitting his hazel eyes beautifully with its' sad glow. "For…me… But… It was more like… Trying to…" He looked away again. "…Save…me…from something…or someone…" I looked at him with a solemn look, and he looked up having the same look as mine. The memory of the nightmare came back: the darkness, the forest, the birds and the boy, Andie, a creature, red eyes, teeth, claws, a scream, blood. The memory caused silent tears to run down my cheeks again, and as we stared at each other horrified at the thought of my dream, we both knew that an unfortunate event was going to happen soon, and that the nightmare was merely a warning to tell us to prepare ourselves of the worst.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I never felt so grouchy in the morning before now. My eyes itched for sleep, and I looked even worse than yesterday, thanks to the zit the size of Mount Everest on my forehead and the untidiness of my un-washed, oily hair. After scrubbing my face to take at least most of the oil off of my face and popping the mountainous zit, I applied make-up to try and make it disappear like magic. It worked fairly well, and only a huge bump was on my forehead now. Nothing embarrassing really. Truly. Except that it couldn't be popped all the way and that it was still there with now a reddish _and_ whitish tip to it. Great. Ugh. I hate days like this. Why can't it just be all nice and pretty with no mistakes in my life or flaws or anything like that? Because life is too frickin' complicated for a perfect god damned life. Why, why, why, why, why?!

"UGH!" I yelled, throwing the hairbrush on the floor aggravated. The brush landed harshly on the floor with a loud THWACK, causing Andie to look over at me in the mirror, stopping in half shave. "Now why'd you do that? That's a perfectly fine brush." I glared at my reflection, tempting to throw the brush again at myself. "My hair is _not_ perfect and it's being a pain in the ass thanks to my stupidity and my genes."

Andie blinked at my reflection slowly, registering every word I said and the mood I was in. Then he sighed and put the razor on the counter, turning his body to me with his arms crossed. "Audrey, you know that you're not stupid one and two you have fantastic hair. Why are you aggravated?" I turned my head slowly to him, giving him the nastiest, most hateful glare I could. "Because I look like shit and I have ugly hair," I growled. Andie raised one brow, and after a second he coughed a laugh and turned back to the razor and mirror, shaking his head and laughing to himself. "What's so funny?" I spat. He made a weird look that was close to a sideways yawn and slid the razor slowly and softly down his right cheek. "Nothing," he said carefully. "Just enjoying your frustration at nothing except your tireless sleep and knowledge."

I tightened my hand into a fist. "And that is supposed to mean…?"

"Like I said; nothing. I'm just enjoying the fact that you're getting upset over nothing and that you know I'm right. Besides, today can't be that bad; it's not like you got your period or something."

My right eye twitched. "Don't jinx it," I snarled.

Andie smirked, causing a small dot of red liquid to appear under the razor. Andie frowned, "Aw, shit…" Feeling that karma was somewhat on my side, I gave him a ha-that's-what-you-get-you-jerk look that only bitches give and received a glare. Now smiling to myself, I looked back in the mirror and was reminded of Mount Everest that was on my forehead and oily hair. "Look, if you think that your hair looks _that_ bad, why don't you take a shower? Plus it might shrink the zit on your forehead," he mumbled while ripping off a piece of toilet paper and applying it to the razor cut on his cheek.

I froze, realizing that I could've done that, and felt utterly stupid. But, I couldn't let Andie think that I didn't think of that right?

"Well… Yeah, I thought about that, but… That wouldn't have helped, with…my…sleepy problem!" I said, pausing in between words to think of an excuse. Andie raised his brow and frowned, looking at me quite amused at the same time. "Um, in case you forgot, water wakes up most people, including you."

I twitched, realizing once again that he was correct. "Well… Well… UGH! You're so annoying! No, I couldn't have taken a shower anyway because, because, what about my lack of sleep? Eh? If I _did_ take a shower there wouldn't have been enough time to get to school on time!" I almost yelled, now feeling that I had won. But then, another thought came to mind: I could've taken a shower last night. Before Andie could even speak I growled, "Don't say it, I know," and stomped out of the bathroom. While exiting, I could have sworn that I heard him smile to himself. God, I know him almost _too_ well…

I walked into the bedroom and finished getting dressed into the proper school uniform, which today consisted of me wearing a white blouse with a black vest and light blue tie for a top and a grey mini skirt for a bottom. I slipped on again my roman sandals with my toes covered and sighed, frowning to a random thought that came to mind.

It's been about two weeks since I've met Aaron and Brion. So far, I have Aaron for both English Honors and AP Environmental Science while I have Brion for none since he's a sophomore; however I do see him and chat when I go to math. He's a real nice guy. But as for Aaron… He seems nice enough… But, now that I got to think about it more and I got to talk to him more, he does have a bad aura to him. It's hard to explain, ya' know? It's one of those things that you know, but you don't know. Anyway, he's fun to be around and, hopefully neither Kylie nor Andie have noticed or find out, fun to flirt with. I don't think he's _that_ kind of guy who plays around but he does smirk and flirt back whenever I do. And it's because of that partially that I am hating how bad I look today.

Realizing I left the brush in the bathroom, I groaned and decided to leave it alone and try to manage my hair with just my hands and rubber bands. I walked to the mirror in my bedroom and put two bands in my mouth. I trialed my fingers along the part between my hairs to the nape of my neck, hoping it's equal on both sides. Grabbing one side of now parted hair, I took one band out of my mouth and wrapped it numerously around it. I tightened it keep its hold and it did. I repeated the step to the other side and thanked the heavens above that it was equal-ish. On my desk I saw in the mirror there was baby powder, and I grabbed it and sprinkled it on top of my head, shaking my head afterwards to get the excess off. I used my fingers to get the rest of it off without damaging my hair style and my hair looked somewhat clean without the oiliness. With a small smirk of satisfaction, I bent down to grab my stuff and walk out the door, hoping today would be at least ok.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I was wrong. Oh so very wrong. I didn't read. And I was called on. Why did God decide to mock me today? Why? Ugh. I slumped back into my seat, covering my head as he announced that I got a D for only answering two questions. I could feel Kylie's worried gaze on me, but I kept my head down because I couldn't lift it up honestly. I was tired… So tired… A black blanket came over me… And it felt so good… As I felt myself drift away… Into sleep…

**WHAM**.

I sat up immediately in my chair, my expression most likely close to a deer caught in headlights. "Stay awake," my teacher cheerfully and authority-like mocked as he walked away from my desk with a grin on his face. I glared at his back, cursing my hot teacher to rot in hell, then rested my head on my left hand, trying to support it.

After that dreadful hour I dragged my feet across the floor out of his room and to my next class. "Dude, you don't look so good…" Kylie commented, still giving me a worried glance as she walked next to me. "No shit, Sherlock," I mumbled as we turned the corner. "I had another nightmare last night." She widened her eyes a bit. "Again?" I nodded. "Was it the same one?" I nodded again, letting out a sigh. She bit her bottom lip. "No wonder why you're so tired… Did anything new happen this time?" I closed my half-lidded eyes, thinking of anything new. And then I remembered, and I couldn't help but shiver. Kylie noticed the movement. "What happened?" I opened my eyes again and looked at her with a tiring look. "I'll tell you during break, ok?" She nodded and gave me a brief hug before she departed into her classroom.

Still half asleep I procrastinated to my math class, but not before hearing a chirpy hello. I turned slightly to see red hair. I sighed and attempted to wave at Brion half heartily. "You look tired. You been playin' around at night?" I didn't know what he meant by that, despite my perverted mind, and ignored the question. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired… Lots of work you know…" I looked up at him and smiled softly as not to worry him and seem like a bitch, and he smiled back. "Yeah, we all have doz problems," he said, rolling his 'r' and making 'problems' sounds like it has two 'o's instead of one. "School work is hard en mah country, too… Only our teachahs actually hit us if we get something wrong." He smirked, chuckling at his little not-really-a joke. Normally, I would've at least fake laughed to let him know it was kinda funny but now, all I did was smirk and nod. I guess he expected me to react to it with a laugh, anything, but as I looked ahead I felt the disappointment in his mood, even though it isn't really a mood. "Well... I guess I should go now, since class is comin' up… I'll talk to ya latar zen, okie? G'bye" and he walked past me and into his classroom.

I sighed as I dragged my feet into math. I just hoped that class wouldn't be as boring or bad as usual. I immediately got my little prayer to be smashed to pieces when 'POP QUIZ' was etched out all over the white board in big, scrawny, red capital letters. I groaned and looked up to the ceiling, as if asking God why he tortures me so. The answer to my rhetorical question was a glare from Ms. Rhinard's and a detention slip for sleeping in her class. And for the record, I wasn't asleep. I was just resting my eyes while dreaming of Ms. Rhinard's dying, burning body over a bed of hot coals and spikes and math papers and textbooks and the like burning with her; the best dream I've had in months.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"You got a detention for sleeping in class?! What a bitch!" I nodded slowly, acknowledging Kylie's comment. It was break, and we were all under the ficus tree, all being my friends, brother, and I. Brion joined our little group as to make him feel more American and civilized and he was having an argument with Andie and C about Ireland and the United States; who was better? I wasn't really paying attention though, mostly because I was drifting to sleep on the soft grass. My head was lying on top of Kylie's legs while she was leaning against the bark of the tree. Even though most of the time legs were uncomfortable to rest on, I was open to _anything_ to put my head on, so when she offered I just had to accept.

"That's so unfair though… Doesn't the principal see that she's a horrible teacher?" Kylie asked, still pressing on the subject. I was slightly annoyed at the fact she wouldn't let me sleep, but I shrugged the best I could. When she didn't say anything, I assumed she was waiting for a verbal reply and I sighed in aggravation. "Probably doesn't… He's a nice guy but blind as a bat as to how to control a school and crap."

I felt Kylie's legs shift uncomfortably but carefully. "Yeah…" was all she said. Then she shifted her legs again. And again. I opened one of my eyes and turned my head to look at her when she shifted again, as I was looking away before. "Do you need to pee?" I mumbled. She gave me a guilty look and avoided looking at me, shifting her eyes towards whatever was to her right, and bit her lower lip. "I take that as a 'yes'…" I said, sighing while pushing myself off of her legs and got myself into a bowing position before lifting myself up unto my calves and knees. "Go before you piss yourself," I grumbled, giving her a bored look.

She didn't have to be told twice. She stood up almost immediately, looking like she regretted it when I had been laying down on her legs for the past five minutes or so, and limped as fast as she could to the building. I watched her amused; it always amazed me how she could do anything such as limping gracefully. So strange… I sighed again and brought my back pack under my head to sleep.

I was blacking out when a voice woke me up. Again. "Hey, Audrey."

In my head, I cursed whoever dared to wake me up and that they were dead meat if the man, as they had a slightly deep voice, was Andie or C, and I opened one eye. At first, all I saw were gym shoes and extremely in-fashion black baggy pants. I looked up to see an untucked shirt and I knew it was Aaron without having to see his face, which was blocked by the shade of the tree and the sun behind him. I squinted as the light hurt my tired eyes. "Hi," I mumbled tired. "You look tired," he said, walking to the empty space next to my head. "No shit," I mumbled again. God, does everyone have to ask if I was tired? I thought it looked pretty obvious.

To my surprise, he sat there. "I'm sorry to hear that… I hope you don't mind that I sit here." I blinked my one eye slowly at him then I closed it mumbling, "Not at all." He stayed silent for a minute, and I was thankful.

Until he spoke again, making me jump. "Hey, uh, Audrey? I was wondering… Do you want to see a movie Friday?" My eyes shot open and I sat up to look at him, causing a headache to automatically occur and put a hand to my head and lay back down. "Ugh… W-what…?" I saw him blush slightly and look away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… U-um… I've never been good at this… But, if you don't want to that's ok-"

"No no no! Friday sounds really good," I interrupted, smiling at him politely and lifting myself up the second time successfully. He looked back at me and smiled. "Oh, o-ok… So…" he kept his lips pursed as he tilted his head his left to get a better look at me at an almost sideways glance. "Pick you up at 6?" I smiled wider and faked a blush to not scare him off. "Yeah, I guess so." I felt his pride, causing me to feel prideful too. I almost looked away bashful. Thank God for my cockiness that I didn't. "Well, alrighty then, see you in 4th," he said while winking at me. I blushed even more, except that one being real and nervous. He got up and walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets with a smile on his face. I suddenly didn't feel so tired anymore.

As Aaron was walking away, he walked pass Kylie who was giving him a puzzled look, as she saw him sitting next to me for a few seconds. "Audrey," she questioned when she was a few steps in front of me, "why was Creeper talking to you?" I rolled my eyes at the new nickname she gave him just a few days ago. "He has a name you know, like Aaron?" She stopped in front of me and gave me a you-better-tell-me-or-else look. I smirked at her, my cockiness coming back to me. "Well, wouldn't you like to know?"

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

The rest of the day, my bad day turned good. It was as if Aaron took away all of the bad karma I was having earlier that day, including me being extremely tired, and switching it to a good day. I had passed by the principal, who knows I'm a 'good kid', and started talking. He caught sight of my detention slip and asked me about it, and when finding out he took the slip and ripped it up, telling me to forget about it and that he'll talk to Ms. Rinehart. That brightened my day the most.

Of course, I eventually told Kylie that Aaron asked me out and she wasn't happy or mad. She was shocked. "I can't believe he asked you out… He barely knows you," she had told me. She had a sudden shift of emotions, turning from shock to caution. "You better be careful Friday. He might have some intentions that can end up nasty on your part." Intentions? Please. Andie, who found out through Kylie yelling it out in the hallway, was extremely pissed about the whole situation. "I thought I told you I didn't like him, AT ALL," he growled at me. But, eventually he got out of his anger mode and just accepted it, knowing he can't control my life. He had also warned me to be careful with him, just as Kylie did. People worry too much. Why can't they be a little laid back like me? It's not like he's gonna molest me or something. (I think) Geez.

But despite all of that, I _did_ think it was odd for him to ask me out. I mean, it was out of nowhere, and he does barely know me like Kylie had said. But then again, I rarely get asked out so I take it whenever I'm asked, even if it is an almost complete stranger… Ok, acquaintance is a better term to use. Still, the point was that it was unusual. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Oi, little mermaid, done with the shower yet? Some people want to take a shower too." I glared at the door. "Shut up, Shrek. I'll take as long as I want to." But, even though I said I wasn't done yet, I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. After getting dressed into my pajamas and blow drying my hair, I unlocked the door to Andie's room and walked out of my door. My skin was slightly damp because of the steam from the shower and the heat from the blow dryer and it felt oh so good to have the cool air brush against my face. "About time," I heard Andie mumble as he opened the door. I stuck my tongue out at him. "At least I didn't use up all the hot water." I heard him mumble something about the hot water being used up and he shut the door. I sighed and looked out at the nearly gone sunset outside.

Maybe he did have some not wanted intentions for Friday, maybe not, but either way, I knew that I was bound to find out one way. I turned my head to Marcy, who was rolling around on her back on my bed. I smiled as I walked to her and rubbed her belly, causing her to at first jump at my touch then kick one of her legs in the air repeatedly while sticking her tongue out. I giggled at this and scratched under her chin. Aaron seemed like a good guy, I mean, he's got manners. But then again, a lot of playboys seem to have manners at first to draw in girls. Well, if he was a playboy, then I'll just walk away before he does any damage on me. But, again, he doesn't seem like one…

Now that I think about it, he's kinda hard to read period. I can't fit him in any of the 'clicks' at school: he's definitely not in punk, goth, or emo clicks, for he would be wearing a lot of make-up, dark clothing, tight pants, piercings, neon, ironed hair, or bracelets; he's not in the jock click, or he would be wearing a letter jacket, be snotty, or walk around with a duffle bag to prove they're athletic; he's not in the bitchy click, which is basically all of the popular people who are snotty and stuck-up; as far as I'm concerned he's not in the popular click, which is of the other popular people who are concerned with their career but continue drinking alcohol and maybe even smoke a few sticks of weed; he is SO not in the nerd click; not in the gamer click (I hope); Kylie thought he was in the bad-ass/misfits click, but he claims to be a goody-goody and I affirmed it to during the two periods I have him for (though he has bragged of the few things he's done); I don't think he's in the druggie click; he's not in the nameless click, which consists of people like me, Kylie, and Andie who have no idea where the hell we're supposed to be and need to be in a click so we decided to make our own click of mixed people; he doesn't seem to be in the weirdo click (I think that clears everything up and does not need to be explained); and as far as I can see, he is definitely not in the nobody click, consisting of people who are never talked to and plan to stay in the shadows. I became aware that he didn't belong to any click, that he just decides to be in the bad-ass/misfits click just because. But, why would he put himself in that? Then again, Kylie is like that too. Even though she mostly hangs out with us, she also hangs out with the popular click. Now that I think about it, I might be considered in the nobody click, too since I don't like putting too much attention to myself...

I felt Marcy nudge my hand, making me realize that I had stopped petting her because I was so deep in my thoughts. I rubbed her ears, telling myself that I really shouldn't be thinking _this_ much about a guy. I didn't want to become a stalker like someone, ahem, Kylie. I groaned as I fell flat on my back, my head landing on my pillow. Friday was coming up soon, and I still didn't know what I was going to wear, how I was going to do my hair, or what purse I would use, or what personality I should fake; bitchy to scare him off, playful to keep him, or just my cocky self to annoy him. It was at that moment also I realized I never told him where I lived. Then again, would I want him to know where I lived? But, it was proper to pick up the date, male or female, for the date. Oh, what to do, what to do…

I sighed again as I looked at the stack of books on my desk. I still had to finish my homework. Ugh. Why did I have to be reminded? Mr. Garcia usually doesn't call on people two days in a row but then again Hannah Shrews was called on two days in a row and had an A the first time and a F the second. It was extremely embarrassing for her, as I should know; she doesn't like getting a Fantabulous grade. Well, I better get reading, I thought to myself, sighing.

But I don't want to read.

Well too bad.

But, but, but-

No.

Am I really having an argument with myself in my head?

Yes.

Great. Now I'm going crazy. I'm sure the weirdo click would open their arms gladly to me now if they found out. I wonder what Aaron would think of me if he knew I talked to myself in my head? But before I could debate that, my cell phone rang a perky tune. Knowing it would be Kylie, I answered the call. Before I could say anything, Kylie's voice with a sound of plastic static covering her voice cut me off. "You never told me about your dream," the receiver spoke. I groaned, knowing this was going to turn into one of those hours long conversations.

* * *

_**A/N Update: Surprisingly, I didn't have to fix much this chapter, which makes me happy. What I am going to have to fix up a lot however are the next three chapters, which I'm also not very happy with (some less so than the previous one). Anywho, lemme know how you guys like the slight changes or if this is the first time you're reading it how you like it so far. Thanks. ~**_


	6. CHAPTER 5: No Comment

**CHAPTER 5: No Comment…**

Kylie agreed to come home with Andie and me today, the day of my date, so she could help me pick out what to wear and get myself ready. So, in the agreement we made, she left her car at our house and drove with us. Also a part of the agreement, as so Andie wouldn't be 'swimming in girlyness' (as he called it), we allowed C to come home with us, too. So, now we had two cars plus my parents' car in our drive way while we were at school. Father, who was there with us that busy morning for the first time in a while, had questioned us about this, and we 'reminded' him that our friends were coming over today, then he 'remembered' that we told him. (Everything is in quotations because we never really told him and he happened to remember the only time we actually did ask him, which was last year, when we didn't have a car yet. The only reason I could think of why he wouldn't remember is that he isn't home enough, which really isn't his fault but his stupid job.) Anyway, Kylie and C came to school with us and _that_ was interesting itself.

Everyone argued for what music to put on. C wanted rap. Kylie wanted pop or 80's. Andie wanted country. I wanted rock. If I was driving, I would've not turned any music on so no one would argue anymore.

But no. Andie decided to turn to the radio and what did we listen to? _Classical orchestra music. _Oh dear Lord, I was about to snap when we pulled into the parking lot. I mean, I like it and all, it calms me down, but oh the bickering from C was unbearable. And because C bickered, Kylie snapped; she has shorter patience and a shorter temper than me. And so, they argued. _The_ _entire way_ _there_. I was the first to jump out of the car at the first chance I had, which was before it was even turned off or parked.

Other than that interesting experience of which I do not want to endure ever again for as long as I shall live, my day has been well. Although I do have to say, I can't wait for English and Science; I want to know how he'd be to our little date tonight.

As I thought about this in Art, drifting off to the white board, Sandy tapped me on my shoulder. "Um, hello? Knock knock? Anyone home?" She started to knock on my head with her knuckles when I, slightly annoyed, flicked my head to my left and went to bite for her hand. Sadly she pulled her hand away before I bit the air, hearing a clack as my teeth hit one another. She looked at me with an exasperated look and rolled her eyes. "Please, like you're fast enough to bite _me_," she said cockily.

I literally growled at her, rolling my tongue and baring my teeth to make the effect. At this she laughed. "Ok, ok, maybe you can. But it'd be useful if you could actually do your self-portrait so you don't get an 'F'?"

I looked at the mirror in front me and sighed. My large zit on my forehead was almost gone now, a little red dot in its place. I turned to my right to the table next to ours, to where Kylie was furiously erasing her self-portrait paper, obviously irritated and annoyed. I found myself smirking and chuckling at this while looking back to my paper. It looked ok I suppose, but I wish it looked as good as Van Gogh's. Yes, I was that self criticized. I looked back to the reflection to finish off shadowing in my hair and clothes, which was today down with my bangs to the left side.

I was finishing off the shadowing in my iris's while Mrs. Gordon was walking around. "Lookin' good, Steinbach," she commented in her high, screechy annoying voice. I scowled at the reflection of her back in the mirror.

She is what is known as 'a bitch', both in person and teacher. She thinks she's all cool and stuff by acting 'like us' and saying, "Yo" or "'sup" or the repeating of the word "like" a million times in one frickin' sentence. It really, _really_ pisses me off when she repeats the word, or when _anyone_ repeats the word, "like". Kylie had that stage before I completely snapped and went all proper-English on her. She has stopped since then, thank God.

She looked at Kylie's self-portrait and stopped in her tracks, frowning. "What… is… that…?" she asked slowly, pointing to Kylie's portrait. She didn't look up until she realized it was herself that she was talking to, and I felt a cockiness and annoyance rise within her as she smirked ever so slightly. She looked up at her blankly and confused, blinked, then looked back at her drawing again. After a second or two, she shrugged. "It was me, but then I turned into a mutant monster with ugly hair and a mustache so I'm erasing it and fixing it so that it actually looks human." She turned to my teacher and smiled her sympathetic fake smile.

I could tell she was going to add probably a "like you" to the end of her sentence but she was a smart girl and I suppose decided against it. Honestly, Mrs. Gordon did have a mustache…

Kylie was wearing her glasses today, so I was able to see the reflection of my teachers' countenance. She seemed indifferent, but I could feel her anger rising. I gulped and gave her a look that said, "You better be careful, she's getting pissed." Sadly, she didn't see my warning and kept the smile. "… Miss Stanford… Would you like a detention?" She blinked and gave her an innocent look. "Why, no Mrs. Gordon. I wouldn't want that at all, but, what am I doing to earn a detention?"

I finally made hand motions involved slicing the air to make an 'X' with my arms and hands while shaking my head and mouthing "No." Of course, Kylie looked at me then, and as she gave me a puzzled expression Mrs. Gordon turned around. I stopped everything and just looked blankly at my teacher. She kept her eyes on me for a second before looking back at her.

From that eye connection, I could tell she was going to go into the Bitchy Teacher Mode and release her bitchiness onto Kylie. I had to stop that from happening.

"Um, Miss? I was wondering if you could help me with, uh, blending my colors… L-like, the graphite, I mean…" She twisted her body to me in half a second, giving an exasperated look to me.

She was like any typical female art teacher here in Miami, with long stringy hair, kind of chubby around the waist and stomach, and a long neck with a large bosom. Ok, maybe not all of them look like her but most of them that I did had except for elementary school, who was tall, skinny, and nice. She has a scrawny look to her with so many piercings on her face it was hard to tell what her real face was and what wasn't, not to help all the Botox she added to her face so that she looked 'young' and 'hip' instead of 56. She seemed to wear the same clothes every day, the same overalls anyway, with fake hair (maybe a wig?) and a headband. She always wore converse though, thank God; anymore exposed body parts except her head, neck, and arms would've suffocated me, mostly because of the stench that eradicated from her.

"Miss Steinbach," Miss Gordon began, "there is no need for me to help you for you are, I am sure, fine doing so alone. Miss Stanford here needs my help at the moment so if you would please _just be quiet._"

My mouth formed a thin line as she turned away, and my impatience was getting the best of me. I breathed in and out from my nose, trying to calm myself, but it wasn't helping. So I counted backwards from 10.

10… "So, Miss Stanford…"

9… "Yes, Miss?" Kylie responded annoyed after a pause.

8… "Do you need me to _help_ you?" she asked, emphasizing the 'help'. Kylie glared at her.

7… "No, I can do it myself. _Thank, you,_" she spat, as polite as I have ever heard it before.

6… Mrs. Gordon glared back with a snarl. "If you think-"

"Mrs. Gordon?"

… 1.

I looked to the back of the room to see my friend Juan from science. He has office duty during this period, so I'm guessing that he came for someone. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind: Please be me. Please be me please be me please be me…

"What do you want?" she snapped. Juan gulped. "Um… Can I have…" he looked at the paper at his hand hesitantly while holding on the 'V'. Please be me please be me please be me-

"Kylie Stanford?" DAMN IT.

I looked dreadfully at Juan, as did the rest of the class except for Kylie, who looked as happy as a cat with cat nip.

Mrs. Gordon snarled. "What for?" she croaked. "Her counselor needs to speak with her," he answered softly but loud enough to hear him.

"Why?"

"Well, I don't know Miss. It's pretty important though, has to do with the SATs coming up, I think."

"They're not important enough to talk about in my class so later."

"I'm sorry but I have to fetch her, it's important-"

"Too bad. She's in _my_ class so get the hell away."She looked like she was about to kill the kid. And that is one of the reasons why she is also called 'a bitch', not to confuse her for 'the bitch' named Ms. Rhinard.

Juan almost slunk away in defeat -he wasn't a proud kid anyway, brave I mean- but his pride kept him going. "Miss, please, it truly is important-"

"Yee-es, it is so if ya' want ta keep teachin'…" A tall, dark skinned woman with black hair and dark eyes came through the door, surprising me; I've rarely seen her at the school. She was wearing a tan suit with tights, high heels, and pearls. I think this was Kylie's councilor. "… I suggest dat you send mah student in," she snarled in her Jamaican accent. She tilted her head down to Mrs. Gordon, her hair in a tight bun to follow her.

Mrs. Gordon seemed to have forgotten about her temper and was smiling nervously. "Why, hello there, what brings you here…?"The woman raised an eyebrow. "You. Causin' trouble to all mah clients and students. And, of course, Miss Stanford so, if I could have her now, puh-lease…"

Kylie automatically grabbed her bag and books, not including her portrait, and walked past Mrs. Gordon to her counselor. She turned back at me to wink and smile, telling me basically that she'll see me next period.

"B-but, you can't just-"

"I can when you ain't treatin' mah students right. So, with that, I bid you all a farewell," and she walked out of the door with Kylie trailing behind her. Juan winked at me just before he left, too. I wonder what that would be about…

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I found out right after art. As soon as the bell rang for class to end, I said my good-byes to Sandy and headed off. Instead of heading straight to English, I decided that I'd head for the bathroom instead. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and that led me to wanting to head to the bathroom first. As soon as I reached it, I grabbed hold of the door handle, then sighing, after the bell rang, I opened the door. I took two steps inside when someone flung themselves on me, bawling.

I blinked at first, wondering what the hell was happening, when I realized it was Kylie crying on me. I dropped my stuff on the floor so I could hug her back and comfort her. After a few minutes like this, she let go and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing make-up all over her temples. "H-he's gone…" she sniffed. My heart stopped thumping and I couldn't breathe for a moment. Who? Who died? Oh no, maybe this is what my new nightmare has been leading to? Is this what they were trying to warn me? I couldn't breathe in the air that I needed to go into my lungs until-

"Jack, he died…" I released the breath I was holding in and was secretly relieved despite her lost.

Jack was her old Labrador retriever, who was 15. We were all expecting him to die soon but I guess it was all too sudden for her. She sniffled and hiccupped some more, while I shushed her and calmed her down. After being in the bathroom for 15 minutes, I decided that perhaps I could skip English for the day. It wasn't like I'd be missing anything important.

We sat down on the floor near the wall closest to the door and away from the toilets. Since she was super tired from waking up earlier than usual to get to my house, I allowed her to sleep on my shoulder (we dared not to lay on the floor unless there was a jacket of some sort for us to sit on) while I thought about everything. Again.

I sighed and took out my Twilight book so I could read it. I almost most would rather be in English class than in the bathroom hiding, but it was for Kylie so it was well worth it. The book I'm reading for English is quite interesting indeed, but the author was obviously not a professional. It's about this pathetic girl who can't do anything who meets a vampire who has this super power to read minds. His entire family has super powers, too; Alice is my favorite though, since she has one that is similar to my freaky thingy and is probably the closest to my personality. I like Jasper, too, but Alice the most.

I've always been fascinated with mythical fantasies like these fictional novels. I almost wanted to believe in them, but, I knew they weren't real, no matter how much I wanted it to be true. It's too bad, though… I felt like I needed something to believe in.

As I read on, I was fascinated about how pathetic Bella really was. I mean really, could she _not_ be so whiny? And depressing? I mean, good God, grow some balls… Metaphorically of course. I was at a part where they had all just played baseball and met the new vampires, who were threatening to get Bella. I furrowed my eyebrows and frowned as I pondered about this scene: Why couldn't they had just killed them right on the spot? I know it would scar Bella for life but honestly she needs some meat on her bones, the meat being mental strength and less pathetic-ness. I also thought it was extremely non-vampireish that Ed sparkled; I mean, if that doesn't say 'Lady Gaga', I don't know what does…

All I knew about vampires, without the books' knowledge, was that they had fangs, drunk blood, killed people, were allergic to sunlight, and were heartless and made out of stone emotionally and maybe physically. So really, I don't know why they didn't kill the Black Eyed Peas then and there. I had already seen the movie, the _Twilight_ one, and seen the commercials for _Vampires Suck_, so I know about the whole joke (which is sooo true!). One thought that troubled me, though, was that the book said that vampires live forever. If vampires lived forever, as the book said, and I disbelieved in greatly because nothing lived forever, not even dirt or the sun, then why do these these vampires die later on? (If it follows the movie.) Maybe I missed out or blanked out on a page… I've tended to do that with this book.

I checked my phone for the time and saw it was 20 minutes until lunch. And class for Kylie. Had she eaten yet? I shook Kylie to ask and she looked away from me, having the same guilty look she has when she doesn't want to lie. I gave her my lunch to eat, since I brought it from home today, and forced her to eat it. Even though Kylie is as skinny as a pole, she can eat a walrus plus 2 elephants with a side of blue whale if she wanted to; she had a huge appetite and if she was hungry, move out of the way because she is fierce when she is and will not let anything get in her way!

She finished my sandwich, yogurt, half a cookie, and water within 15 minutes. She smiled at me gratefully, saying, "Thanks for being there for me, Audrey… I don't know what I'd do without you." I smirked. "I do. You'd starve to death." She laughed at that, I guess agreeing with me. "I suppose so… Whatcha gonna do about English? I mean, I know you were looking forward to seeing Aaron today, since your date and all…"

I completely forgot about that. "Nah, he'll tell me during lunch. Besides, I have him for science." She nodded and frowned at me, knitting her brows in worry. "Just be careful with him, ok? I got a bad feeling about him…" I rolled my eyes but kept a smiling face. "Don't worry, I took taekwondo with you in elementary school, remember? Besides, the moment he does anything he's dead meat. Ok?"

She kept the same worried, pondering look for a minute, then she smiled back and giggled. "Yeah, I suppose so… Hey, got anymore food? I'm still starving."

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"Where were you today? In English I mean." I looked at Andie and raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you find out about that?"

He shrugged and took a bite into his sandwich. "Ah widdle burdie told 'e," he said, spitting out chunks of food as he talked.

"Ugh!" I yelled disgusted. "That's so gross!"

He looked at me indifferent and shrugged. "Liak Ah no wha' 'at means."

My eye twitched in annoyance. "It's called chewing then swallowing."

He raised his eyebrows and stifled a laugh. "E'cuse me?"

I raised the upper left part of my lip, now close to being angry. I hated it when he acted dumb and impolite and animalistic like this. "I said, it's called CHEWING then SWALLOWING. UNDERSTAND? COMPRENDAE?" The librarian shushed at me as she was at her desk computer.

"… That's what she said…" I turned to where the voice mumbled it and gapped at them. Of all people, it was my date for tonight, Aaron. He looked at the books ahead of him, pretending he didn't say anything.

"I heard that," I growled. He shifted his eyes to me and smiled mischievously. "Sorry, I can't help myself… It was too good to not say anything at all."

I gave him a look, and then sighed in defeat. I mumbled something about men under my breath as Andie swallowed his food. "Heh, took the words right out of my mouth, literally," he smirked. "But I've got to admit… It wasn't that good." Aaron shrugged. "Hey, a 'that's what she said' is a 'that's what she said', good, bad, or making no sense whatsoever." Aaron looked over at Andie smirking. He smiled wider. "And to that I drink!" He took a hold of his can of Cola and gulped it down. I rolled my eyes. "Shesh, you guys treat it as if it's like some kind of ritual…"

C dropped his books in front of Andie, causing him to jump slightly and turn to him. Of course, me getting scared of ANY loud noise, I nearly hit the ceiling jumping so high and squeaked. I turned my head to the now laughing hysterically C as I glared at him enough to make holes in his body. The librarian shushed us again, glaring at C for making such a loud noise.

"What the hell was that for? You nearly scared me half to death!" I angrily whispered. Andie was now laughing, knowing why C was laughing. I growled at them. "Ah ha, I'm sorry Audio," C apologized, wiping away a fake tear. "I just had to; you guys weren't expecting it." I glared at him even more now, imagining him burning up in flames and having massive holes in his body from so much. He didn't do this in real life so I turned away and bit down on the straw of my soda can harshly, hmph-ing.

I turned my head towards my right as I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. "Aww, c'mon Audrey, have some humor," Aaron said softly, smiling. I felt like a warm blanket had just wrapped itself around my emotions, heart, and everything else all of the sudden. I wanted to say something but…I couldn't remember what or why.

I guess I 'woke up' when Aaron poked me on the forehead. "Ow! What was that for?" I whined, even though it didn't hurt at all and I rubbed my forehead. He laughed and let go of my shoulder. "So you could ease up!" C and Andie nodded in agreement as they went to go and poke me on my shoulders, neck, face, basically anywhere they could that wasn't out of bounds.

Finally the bell rang and I ended up rubbing my left forearm, where I was poked the most. That's going to leave a nasty bruise, I thought to myself. I reached to open the door leading to outside when a hand got the knob before me. I turned to see who this person was and felt myself blush slightly realizing who it was. "Ladies first," he said, opening the door while motioning me to go through. I mumbled a 'thanks' as I walked through, waiting for Aaron to follow. He smiled at my gesture and did indeed follow me to my next class with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"So… Where do you want to go tonight?" I blushed again a light pink. I have _got_ to stop blushing every time he talks; I don't even _like _him, so why _am_ I blushing? "Um, I don't know, you pick." He shook his head. "No no, you're the lady, so you get to pick wherever you like." He looked at me with a warm smile and I felt my stomach twist. _What the hell?_ I was thinking harshly, but I didn't let my thoughts ruin my physical appearance.

I smiled sweetly at him, shockingly, especially since I don't smile much anyway, let alone sweetly, and replied, "Alright. Why don't we go to Johnny Rocket's?" He looked at me shocked. "R-really? I mean, I was expecting something more of higher class…" I laughed, "No, I don't want you spending that much on me; I'm not worth it."

I was not expecting his arm to slither around my waist and pull me close to him near the wall. "Oh, but you are," he breathed. My breath was caught in my throat, and I felt my face burn up like a bad sunburn. My eyes widened as he held me against the wall. I couldn't help but think back when Kylie was warning me about him, and I prepared myself mentally for anything that's about to happen.

As I expected something, anything from him, he smirked at me and grabbed my bag from my shoulder. I blinked repeatedly as he walked away with it. I thought about what just happened, and what I thought was going to happen. And then it hit me: he just walked away with all of my stuff. _Shit!_ I ran after him to fetch my possessions.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I looked at the choices that laid in front of me. I looked at the bright red outfit to my far left, laying on one of my pillows, then to the royal blue dress to my right, lying on a chair. I looked ahead to the classy dress with ruffles in the front that was ahead of me on top of my desk, and the tomboy-ish outfit next to it. Next to all of those were tens of other outfits. "Um… I don't know what to pick," I said honest, biting my lower lip.

Kylie, sitting Indian style on my bed, rolled her eyes. "Just pick something, _anything_. Pick what reminds you of him." I turned my body to her, my hands on my hips, and I gave her an exasperated look. "I barely _know _him." She shrugged, then put her index finger to the corner of her mouth while looking up, as if thinking. "Maybe wear something that's his favorite color… You might at least know that."

I frowned as I looked around my bedroom. I remember he said what it was the first day he came to school, but I don't remember what exactly it was. I remember his favorite subject was math, and that his name was Aaron, and that his last name was something that had to do with sausages.

As I looked around, an outfit caught my eye. It was a dark purple doll shirt that had a black, thick belt around the waist of the shirt with dark blue skinny jeans and my purple sandals with the backs to it. Something about the outfit tugged on me, saying _This is it._ This was what made me think of him, oddly enough. And honestly, it's kinda creepy. But I shoved it from my mind and smiled at Kylie. "Alright, I picked one. The purple one with the skinnies." She blinked at me, then looked over to see what outfit I was pointing at and grinned. In her Master Asian accent, she complimented me, "A nice choice, grasshoppah. A very nice choice." And she bowed down gracefully and honorably.

I had already taken a shower, so all I had to do was put on the outfit and let Kylie do the rest. And of course, get approval from mum, father, and Andie. Really just Andie. Kylie had the iron out, getting ready to iron my hair, but then I reminded her that I wanted to look natural as I did earlier today. She seemed disappointed at that fact, but nonetheless heed my offer.

Did I ever mention who my hair stylist was? Well, her name is Kylie Stanford. Yes, she was not only my best friend, but also my hair stylist too. She has always had a thing for hair and teeth… Especially hair. She started doing her own hair at 9, then her moms and sisters hair at 10, and finally professionally did mine at 13. I was her model when we were younger and she wanted to do hair. I always complained because she'd pull at my hair but secretly I enjoyed it. I took my hair out of the towel that I've had it in for the past 20 minutes and allowed her to blow dry it. As she did so I zoned out to my little world called thoughts. I made sure to stay somewhat conscience, as I trained myself to do, so that I could listen to her when she tells me to turn her head, but otherwise was involved in my thoughts.

I thought about the car ride, how Mr. Garcia was strangely kind and bubbly today, how Mrs. Rhinard kept glaring at me during class (she has been like that since the principal talked to her about the detention; I just wish he had fired her completely), the situation between Mrs. Gordon and Kylie, the main situation about Kylie, lunch, Aaron taking my stuff- I nearly forgot about the incident from earlier. Should I tell Kylie about it…?

I looked up in the mirror to Kylie, who was focused on straightening my bangs. Nah. Best not to. Wait, did I tell her to iron my bangs…? I don't remember doing so. Kylie looked up in the mirror to me and noticed my questioning glance. She gave me the puppy look with the big teary eyes and quivering lower lip. No, no, no… Fine. I rolled my eyes so that she understood I said yes and I swear she was doing back flips in her mind.

But, what should I think about that whole situation? That was just so… Awkward. And random, too; it came out of nowhere. I wonder if his feelings for me are stronger than I think they are. But, I would be feeling the love then, literally. So, is he really just dating me for something? Approval? Money? I mean, I'm not that popular or rich but what else would it be for except... No, he wouldn't; he's not that type of guy… Is he?

"Hey, Audrey, you ok? You look depressed almost…" I looked up to see a worried expression, her blue eyes showing concern. It was also then I realized she was finished with my hair and had turned off both the iron and the hair dryer. I smiled and she lightened up. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Just thinking… Oh wow Kazzy! It looks fantabulous! As usual, of course, but, still! Wow!" I ran my hand through the bottom of my hair so not to mess it up. My bangs were parted to the side, as was the rest of my hair.

She beamed, forgetting about her worry towards me earlier. "Thanks! I think I did too. It would look even better if I ironed it…" She looked at me with beggar eyes and I sighed. "No, I want to try and look as natural as possible. Besides, I think it looks fine as it is." She looked slightly disappointed, but pleased none the less. "Ok then. You know the temperature for tonight?"

I furrowed my eye brows and shook my head. "No… But I think Andie might know that and a couple of other things." I stood up so I could knock on Andie's door. "Um, Andie? Mind if I come in?" I heard no response for a minute except for a mix of country and rap music. Finally annoyed, I tried to open the door which was locked. I growled. They better not be doing what I think they are, because if they are I am going to _screw _them over.

I stepped back a bit, putting my weight to the balls of my feet while balancing myself, and went to kick open the door. "Wait!" Kylie said, causing me to nearly fall over on my face. She ran to the door I was going to kick open and she started messing with the hinges. Ah, I should've thought of that instead of kicking open a door… Well, my idea was cooler. And more badass. It's what they do in the action movies, shesh.

I helped her pull out the nails keeping the door in place and when finished, I yelled one more time. "Andie? You gonna open the door or will I have to open it myself?" With no reply, because I felt like acting spy/ninja-like and cool, I kicked open the door anyway, which opened smoothly.

"What the hell…?!" I blinked as I saw C and Andie trying to hide magazines with pillows. Curious, I asked them slowly, "What are you hiding…?" Andie looked up at me nervously. "U-uh… Um…"

I furrowed my eye brows while starring at the pillows, squinting to see what it was. I saw a nerdy computer magazine, a car magazine, an anime magazine, and another type that I had a hard time trying to see… My eyebrow twitched. "Is that… a Playboy magazine?" I nearly shrieked.

The two looked nervously at me, then to each other, and then anything that wasn't me or themselves. I heard Kylie stepping into the room next to me, and when I looked at her in my peripheral she was holding her hand to her mouth. At first I thought it was shock, but then I realized she was trying to hold back her laughter.

As I looked at the two boys, specifically Andie, I felt a laugh building its way into my throat. It started out as a fought grin and a choking sound in my throat, then slowly grew into a failing frown and giggle until finally I burst out laughing, causing Kylie to laugh out loud too. I felt glares and confusion mixed together as we laughed so hard we were crying. Yes, I realized for once I wasn't crying because of fears of nightmares or because of the effect of them onto myself; no. I was crying because of the stress of this date and school and, well, my brother being him. My twin brother. Yes…

I'm hungry… Didn't I just eat…? Huh… Heh, Andie looks like monkey… And C… He seems like a big black cloud…tree… Yeahh… A big cloud tree… What was it I wanted to do again…? I don't remember… Kylie looks so pretty… Wait… Why am I thinking…like…this…?!

I stopped laughing and just giggled tremendously. I got to look around and realized there was a lot of smoke in the air. Light, but still quite a lot… Why aren't the smokes alarms going off… Wait. Are they… Are they doing what I _think_ they're doing…?! Oh HELL no. They are _NOT_ smoking POT in _MY_ _HOUSE_, near _MY_ _ROOM_. "You are not…smoking…pot in…your ro-o-o-om are you-u-u-u…?" I asked while giggling in between words.

The color from Andie's face drained until it was as pale as paper. He turned his head nervously to C who looked liked he didn't register. Oh great. I looked to Kylie who was now on the floor giggling so much I think she's turning purple. Still giggling in fury, I stumbled to help Kylie out of the room and close the room. As I practically dragged Kylie out of there and into my bedroom, I nearly collapsed from laughing so much.

I finally did when I reached the door. I kicked close the door and breathed in deeply. Fresh air never smelled or felt so good in my room. Marcy, who was in my room sleeping while Kylie blow dried my hair, jumped off the bed to smell me. Whining, she slowly backed away, stumbling as she did so. Eventually, after about ten minutes, I came to my senses. I blinked once, then twice, and a third time, and a fourth time. I turned my head to Kylie lying next to me, meeting her puzzled look with mine. What the hell just happened?

"Do you know…" I started. Still gazing at me, she shook her head. We stared at each other for a little bit until we concluded something: When the doors are locked to Andie's room, and you need to talk to him with C there, bring a gas mask.

Kylie furrowed her eyebrows. "No… Just don't go in." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever… I still say bring a gas mask." She chuckled a little…

"Why are we still on the floor…?" I gave her a 'oh' expression mixed with 'oops' and 'uhhh'. We both sat up before standing up completely. As she looked me over I looked her over. She looked fine, no different, just that her eye liner spread from her eyes to all over her cheeks from 'crying'. She frowned at me.

"You're not wearing any make-up… But you wet your hair so…" I turned from her puzzled and went into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror to see my reflection. My bangs weren't as straight as before, they were now wavy-ish… And honestly, I liked it better like this. The rest of my hair was wavy too but tamed so that it wasn't frizzy. I loved how it looked; it looked natural. I mean, my hair's a little wavy anyway and mostly straight but… Compared to how it looked earlier, it looks fantastic.

I smiled at myself. "It looks fantastic, what're you talking about?" She walked in and looked at my reflection, frowning slightly. "Really? I like it better straight…" I rolled my eyes, smirking, "That's because you like burning people's hair to a crisp." She gave me a look, but I could see the humor in her eyes. "Ok, smart ass. Time to do your make-up."

* * *

**_A/N: You all probably thought that this would be the chapter with the date, right? Well, that's the next chappy, hehe. You wanted me to update for V-Day, or S.A.D. as I call it, (or as my friend calls it, a prelude to Halloween... I love her dark humor. She knows who I'm talking about. xDD ) and I did! Muahaha! Well, what did you think here? Did I take it too far? See, when it comes to humor, I can go pretty far... If I cross any lines, please let me know, but I'm just saying that there _is_ a reason why this story is rate 'T'__. It's not 'M' because it's not going to go _that_ far or bad. But, depending on what y'all think maybe I'll change. Still think it should be just 'T', though... Although the next chapter may be a little 'M'... You'll all see eventually..._**

**_To the few of my anonymous reviewers: The nameless one- It happens, haha, but everyone has their own opinions! :DDD Thank you for reviewing, though, and being honest! I like that! :3 To Neuravinci- Thankies! I'm glad you liked it, 'cause I thought it wasn't that good, haha. Thank you for raising my morale! xDD N- Thank you! You will find loads out, believe me. ;) And yes, it does in German; I just turned the 't' into a 'd' to try and make it not-so obvious. See? I actually put a lot of research into this story. :P I hate the fact I can't have the original book I was going to use for the English class, though... I mean, maybe I can, but I don't want to risk it. I actually had to revise the entire paragraph about the book because of that mishap; the original one was sooooo much better in my opinion. -.- Oh well, though, what can be done? Well! Until next time! ~_**

**_By the way, I realized after uploading that I forgot to put in a whole statement... My mistake... Eh hehehe... Heh... CIAO! ~_**

**_A/N Update: I actually changed a lot of things this chapter. It's a bit more realistic to how it would be in school and such. You might also be wondering why I keep some of the Author Notes I made in the past and others I deleted completely. Well, the ones I know I completely just felt like putting something I deleted them while the others that have replies to reviews I kept. I felt that it was important to have some of the same energy I was using to show some of how much I did care and still care about my readers and remind me of how I was in high school... I'm in my third year of college now so, lots of changes eh hehe... Anyway, let me know how you like it. Thanks again. ~_**


	7. CHAPTER 6: The Date

_**WARNING: This chapter has more of an adult theme than the other chapters that may or may not be suitable for people who are under 16.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 6: The Date**

For some odd reason, I don't know why, I have a mood that I usually never get.

A mood that annoys me.

A mood that I _never_ feel. Or, now, rarely ever feel. And I _really_ hate it.

Why?

Why am I feeling, this… This _emotion_?!

I don't want to feel like this. It's so STUPID!

And it's just… UGH!

I don't want this!

I've been on PLENTY of dates but for some reason…_This_ one is making me feel like this!

This, this, this…_Feeling_!

Of…

Of…!

Nervousness…

Yes… I am actually nervous about this date…

And I honest to God don't know why.

I groaned loudly, making more of a scream, and brought my hands to my head while sitting down on my bed.

Kylie jumped from where she was standing, looking at me shocked, surprised, and scared. I stood up again to walk to my closet then back to my bed, not knowing how to get this wretched feeling away.

"Audrey…" I glared at Kylie, "What?" I asked, a little harsher and louder than I meant it to sound.

Kylie seemed surprised I used that tone, but then brushed it off. "I know you're nervous and all that, but that's no reason to act like this."

I twitched. "Who said I was nervous? HA! Not me! Wha-what makes you think I'm nervous?" I laughed halfheartedly and almost maniacally.

Kylie rolled her eyes. "Just take three big breaths, and calm down-"

"Who told you I was nervous?"

"Audrey you're acting hysterical and there's no reason you should be."

I glared at her reasoning and 'hmphed' away to sit on my bed again, turning my head to look away. "I am not nervous-s-s-s-s-s- Ok I am! I am! I admit it ok? I am!" I brought my face to my hands as I leaned against my knees for a second groan.

Like I said earlier, I hate lying, and when I tried to say that I wasn't, I couldn't, so now I felt worse than before because I tried to lie. I heard Kylie sigh and a creak in my head, along with some weight that I now felt next to me. Kylie put her hand on my back to comfort me, "It's ok to be nervous, even though you never are… Maybe it's a sign or something." I looked at her, keeping my hands in the same position, and gave her a sarcastic 'really?' look. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe… Marrying?" I gawked at her. "Ew! No! I haven't even gone _on_ the date yet and you're suggesting that? Ugh!" I put my head back into my hands. "Why, ew? He's pretty hot you know, and you even admitted it when you first met him."

"Yeah, and also weird… With the looks he gave me I mean." My voice sounded scuffled because of my hands covering my mouth.

Kylie sighed again. "Just take three deep breaths, ok? Take it with me. Breathe in… Audrey you can only do it if your hands aren't blocking your airway."

I groaned and took my time getting my hands out of my face.

"And sit up, c'mon."

I gave her a lazy stare while slowly sitting up. She rolled her eyes. "Geez… I feel like I'm talking to a five year old… Ok, breathe in…" She took a deep breath in while motioning her hands, indicating air is being brought into the lungs near her chest.

I took a short breath in and then out. Kylie looked at me exasperated. "Seriously? Are you six now? Come _on_, it's not going to kill you." I pouted. "Yes it will," I whined in a high, childish voice. This was fun, toying with Kylie. Mentally, I was laughing at her agitation and impatience. And really, she was helping me with my, er, problem…

"You know what? Forget it! UGH! You're so frustrating!" She walked off the bed and crossed her arms, looking pissed. I chuckled. She turned to me and glared. I gave her my real smile, my toothy grin that was so wide it makes me squint.

"You know I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, sure you do."

My grin downsized some so that I could see clearer and saw her trying not to smile back by looking at anything but me. I chuckled again. She can never be upset for too long…

There was a car honk. I frowned and looked out the window to see what or who that was. My heart sunk as I saw a slick black mustang outside with a guy who looked familiar standing in front of it.

I looked at Kylie fearfully. "I can't do it."

"Oh please, yes you can," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Just take three deep breaths… Breathe in…"

I took a deep breath in.

"Breathe out…"

I breathed out.

"Breathe in…"

I repeated, and I felt some of my nervousness seep out with every breath I drew in and out.

"Breathe out…"

Maybe it won't be that bad.

Maybe…

"Breathe in…"

Just maybe…

Nothing will happen…

Maybe…

"Breathe out…"

… He won't try to seduce me or something…

Right?

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"So…"

I shifted from my feet to point towards Aaron. He was leaning back into the car seat relaxed with his right arm on the steering wheel and his left arm bent and resting on the window as it held his head up. "Still on just going to 'Johnny Rocket's' to eat?"

I turned my head towards the road slightly and kept my eyes on Aaron. "Um, yeah, unless you have something better planned… That's not expensive, I mean…"

He smirked at the road; so far he seems like a really safe driver despite the speed that's contained in this war horse. "Hmm, yeah, I do… You like exotic food?"

I looked at him suspicious. "What kind of exotic food..?" I asked cautiously. He laughed, "No, no, it's not a bad place, really, I actually work there so I get a 15% discount on the entire meal. Plus, the food is really good there."

Shock overwhelmed me. "You already have a job?!" I asked, my voice cracking for some reason. Here I am, TRYING to get a job for weeks, no, _months_, and he gets one in a week and a half? What the hell?!

He strayed his eyes to me, raising his right eyebrow while doing so, then looked at the road again. "No need to get excited, sweet stuff. I just mumble mumble mumble…"

Did he just call me sweet stuff…? Ok, no need to panic, he's just giving you a pet name. Everyone gives you a pet name, Audrey. Mom calls you her Koala sometimes, your last date called you Pumpkin of which he regretted the moment he said it, even Andie gives you one calling you his AYTS or Annoying Younger Twin Sister or Ate-us.

"… Hey, do you smell something… Weird?" Still wrapped around the nickname, I looked over at him. "Like what?" I grumbled, trying to not sound annoyed.

"Like… You know… Weed…?"

I stared at him like deer caught in headlights, glad he wasn't looking at me. Oh. Shit, I thought to myself. I thought I sprayed myself, no, bathed myself in enough perfume…

Aaron shrugged. "Eh, I guess it's just me."

I sighed in quiet relief. He shifted so that now his left hand was on the wheel while his right hand was on the gear shift. I stared at him for a moment, then sighed and looked out the window. Well, this is going swell, I thought to myself bitterly. I felt something on my thigh and turned my head to see what it was. It was his hand, Aarons' hand, resting on my left thigh very near my crotch. I stared at it in disbelief at first, then the thoughts of earlier crept in and I panicked.

Oh no, does this mean… No, Audrey, there's no need to start panicking… But what if he…?

AHHHHHHHH! No! I want my virginity! _I want to remain virgin_!

He moved his hand back to the stick and I kept holding my breath. I remembered Kylie telling me about taking deep breaths, and I tried to do so. Breathe in… Already in… Out… Not so choppy… In… Why can't I breathe in…? Ok, out… Jesus this is harder than I thought… And slightly painful…

"Hey, are you ok…? You don't look so good…"

I turned my head quickly to Aaron, causing my hair to fly for a moment and trance out of my thoughts. Aaron had stopped the car and was looking at me concerned, and yet also somewhat amused.

I couldn't say anything for a moment, the sunset… It was cast on him just so perfectly. The light touched his hair just so it glimmered in orange red while his skin glowed orange, but what really caught my eye were his eyes… I realized, for the first time, that his eyes were violet. And right now, the light shone in them so beautifully… Why does he seem so worried though- Oh yeah.

"Uh, y-y-yeah, yeah, don't… Don't worry," I laughed nervously, still absorbed in his beauty. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, as if thinking, then smiled warmly. "Ok… Hope you don't mind where we stopped…"

I forced myself to look away to the dashboard. I gapped at the restaurant we stopped at. "We're at the Poseidon's Trident?! I thought I said no place expensive!" I turned to him angrily, which was actually fake anger because, well, I don't get mad that fast despite my impatience… I've always wondered why…

Aaron smiled at me sympathetically as he turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Heh, yeah, but this is where I work so I get a discount per person. So, since there's two of us, I get a 30% discount. Does that count?"

I looked at him questioningly, seeing if he was trying to pull my leg so to speak. He raised his hands up in defense. "I swear, it's not as expensive here when it's for employees… Please? You deserve somewhere nice."

Aww, how sweet… Damn it. Why do I always fall for sweet stuff?

"Alright, but if the bill is more than $100 you're screwed."

He gave me a toothy grin, "Don't worry, it won't be." He opened the door and stepped out. He must have un-did his seat belt when I was looking at the place. I un-did mine and as I was about to open the car door it opened itself. I blinked surprised until a hand reached towards me, offering itself to me. I looked at the hand, disappointed at myself for not realizing this was going to happen, and took it into my own. His hand was slightly cold, I suppose from the A.C., but also filled with calluses. At least he does some hard work. I suppose that means he's somewhat manly yet gentleman like. That's a good thing, right? I thought about his hands' texture while we walked towards the restaurant.

I shifted my eyes towards him for a moment. He seemed to have a determined look to him. I wonder why… Wow, is that, like, the third time I said that about him? Maybe I should stop wondering… I realized then that the date was going so-called-bad because I was over-thinking things.

He opened the door to the restaurant for me, "Ladies first." I grinned at him slyly as I walked through, giving him that look the entire way. He smirked back, closing the door when he and I had walked through completely. I looked around; I've never gone here before. I heard it was nice but… I never expected it to be _this_ nice.

There were fishing nets hanging from the ceiling while I guess a projector kept a water view there, causing it to feel like we were under water. There were fake corals that seemed pretty real everywhere while fake fish were displayed around them. There was a huge what seemed to be salt water tank in the middle of the room where a large number of fishes and lobsters were. Around the very large room were tall poles of more cylinder shaped tanks with bubbles bubbling from the bottom up. The floor was wood planks and classy music played while there was a hum of people talking. To the left was what seemed to be a porch area with more chairs, tables, and -oh my Lord- the ocean. I think this is my official favorite fancy restaurant now, despite only going to now three fancy restaurants. No wonder why people love it here.

"A table for two, please Sarah."

"Oh, hey Aaron! What's up? Ooo you gotta date?"

I turned to see a peachy woman with short blonde hair and crystal blue eyes and a typical expensive restaurant waitress uniform, consisting of a white, long sleeved blouse with a black vest with black slacks and, of course, black Mary-Jane shoes.

Aaron smiled. "Yep, I do actually." He turned to me and winked. "Say, ah, do you mind, since I work here…" Sarah's eyes lit up a little, almost dream-like, with understanding. "Oh, no no no, not at all… I think I know where you wanna go… Just follow me." Aaron took my hand and pulled me along as she grabbed two menus and walked towards the scattered tables.

As we weaved in and out around tables, I realized that the tables were square with a net placed just so that the four edges were dangling off the sides, staying in place with a glass top. Between the net and glass were some thin sand dollars, sand, and other shells. This place really out does itself.

We walked towards the porch outside, but not the one I was looking at. There was one past the tanks and past the outdoor porch. We walked towards a back door and Sarah looked behind her as if to make sure no one was following. I gave Aaron a questioning look; "It's an area only for employees to eat at when they come here," he explained in a whisper. I gave a look of understanding, mouthing 'Oh' as Sarah walked us outside.

There, a small semi-enclosed area with a similar square tables were scattered around the area, however not as many tables as the larger room. There were still wood planks as the floor with the ceiling having nets hanging from its place, but the differences between inside and here was that there was no water projection to make it feel like being underwater and that the floor was covered with a thin layer of sand. Of course, the largest difference was that it was right next to the ocean. This was a small patio with railings along the sides except for where the stairs were to go down to the sand and water. There were dangling lights from the sides of the railings and the edges of the ceiling. It truly was a beautiful sight.

Sarah sat us down at a table closest to the ocean side and set our menus down in front of us, telling us that our waiter/waitress will come shortly and giving me a quick wink, that sparkle still in her eyes. She strut off, leaving only Aaron and I in the 'room'. Honestly, he made me feel slightly uncomfortable and nervous, being here just with him, despite just being in a car with him alone for the past fifteen minutes… Actually, I feel like that with every guy alone in a room or place- What am I thinking about? What did I secretly swear to myself? Aie…

Well, the place is romantic enough, I will admit. The sun was setting at the ocean, casting an orange red glow to the rough waters and the sand. The music was comforting enough. Yep, pretty good so far.

Now for food…

Fish…

Fish…

Fish…

Fish…

Crab…

Fish…

Fish…

Fish…

Clams…

Fish…

God damn do they have anything other than fish?

Lobster… Hm. This will be a lot more difficult than I thought…

"So… What kind of things do you like?" I looked up from my menu to see Aaron smiling at me with his hands intertwined under his chin. I looked out to the ocean that was at my right and shrugged. "I like a lot of things… You have to be more specific than that if you want info out of me," I smiled small, keeping my eyes to the ocean and my expression pretty blank.

Be mysterious but polite. Rule number one.

Aaron laughed, "Okay, how about what your favorite animal is?"

"I don't have one, I love them all equally except for insects," I answered.

"Why, not insects?"

"They creep me out, no pun intended."

He laughed again, "Okay, well, I guess mine has to be the Yellow Stone wolf."

I turned and looked at him astonished at the fact he knew a not-so-common wolf. "Why not the Mexican or the European wolf?"

"Well, first I'm a patriot of my country and second I think they are much more beautiful than the other species. If I had to pick another wolf, though, I'd pick the Mexican wolf just because of its' red fur."

I smiled. "I'm surprised you know so much about wolves."

He shrugged. "Like I said, wolves are my favorite animal, especially the Yellow Stone. It's too bad they want to kill them now, though…"

He had a sad expression on his face as he looked back down to the menu. That didn't surprise me that he knew about it, since I now know he loves wolves. People at Yellow Stone are protesting to kill the wolves and are now killing them illegally. It hurts me to hear about people hating carnivores…

"Yeah, I know… I feel so bad for them. The national park has to protect their wolves now even more than usual so poachers stop killing them off one by one."

Aaron looked up to me shocked. "You know about that?"

"I know just about anything animal related. Like I said, I'm an animal lover, which is why I don't have a favorite animal because I love them all too much."

He grinned. "That so… I assume then you have pets?"

I smiled and nodded. "Her name is Marcy; she's a Jack Russell Terrier. I would have more pets if mum wasn't allergic to every other animal except for Marcy."

"Why isn't she allergic to Marcy?"

"No clue. We think it has to do with her DNA but again, we're not so sure. Anyway, that's about it for pets unless you include Andie's collection of dead bugs…" I shivered at that thought. "Ugh…"

"You dislike bugs that much?"

"They're creepy! And crawly! And disgusting!"

"Even butterflies?"

I narrowed my eyes to make it more demented. "Have you _seen_ them up close? They look like mutant monsters that come eat your flesh and suck your blood in the middle of the night to satisfy their need of destruction and mutant-ness."

He laughed at my description. "I don't think they're that bad looking."

"Um, yeah, tell me that when they start sucking out your soul."

He laughed again. "Geez, you really dislike them. What if they're dead?"

I narrowed my eyes to him, shifting my head down so that the sun cast its light on me dramatically, and whispered, "Their eyes follow you everywhere you go and cast nightmares to darken your soul when you're asleep."

Andie raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that was trying to sustain his laugh while trying to look serious. "Oh really?"

"Oh, yes, indeed."

At that we both laughed as the door swung open. I looked to my left to see a scrawny guy wearing the same uniform as the other employees. "Hello, my name is Jose and I will be your waiter- Oh hey! I was told you were gonna be here and I was gonna pull your leg but I didn't know you were gonna be with a date! Nice catch!" I gave Aaron a look that asked him to politely shut our waiter up and he grinned at me. Maybe this whole date thing won't be too bad after all.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

After we ate our dinner, which for me was the cheapest thing on the menu that actually looked good (Salmon with Teriyaki Sauce and Sesame Seeds) and for him Grilled Yellowtail Snapper with Basil, Tomatoes, and Garlic, we, meaning Aaron, paid the bill and left, leaving a tip behind even though Aaron worked there. ("He's my friend and I want to be polite," he insisted.)

He wasn't telling me what the bill was, and it was really annoying me. "Just tell me! If it was that expensive that it went past the limit I _will_ screw you over!"

"Hmm, I wish you could screw me but that's a different story. It's not that it was expensive I just don't want you feeling guilty or something."

"Oh really? I mean I would be but- Hey! What do you mean by that, aye?"

"By not wanting you to feel guilty?"

"No! Screwing you over!"

"Hmm that'd be nice-"

"Perv!"

He laughed, trying not to lose the car to the trees next to the road. "You know I'm kidding; honestly I'm a virgin so I wouldn't know if that'd be nice or not."

I raised an eyebrow. "Usually you don't tell a girl that, especially on a first date."

"Well, I guess that makes you an exception." He looked at me and winked before going back to the road. "Besides, something about you makes me feel comfortable with talking to you about stuff like that… I don't know how to explain it. It just… Makes me feel good, you know? Like… Safe…"

I looked at him sympathetically. I did know how he felt, because I felt that way sort of, too, with him, but more with Andie or Kylie. Now anyway. Before, not so much. I looked him over with the same look of compassion mixed with some thoughtfulness.

He was wearing a dark blue dress shirt/t-shirt with blue jeans and white converse. His shirt was untucked, of course, and his hair was slightly spiked, showing signs of a previous shower and combed wet hair. He really was handsome, I have to say. And not just handsome but, hot and nice, understanding, funny, polite, he was a gentleman, good at heart, a slight bad boy, and just so much more…

There _had_ to be a cache.

He was _too_ perfect.

Okay, is he secretly doing drugs? An alcoholic? Part of a mafia? Maybe he's a player? But he said he was a virgin… Maybe he was lying? Maybe he plays with other girls hearts and _makes _them think he likes them! Is that what he's making me think? No, but he's so nice! Yes, so there _must_ be something else. Maybe he has a dark secret? A hidden past? Maybe he really is a criminal like Kylie said? Maybe he transports illegal drugs through the internet? Perhaps hack the websites like the government just like Andie does- er, did? Maybe he has a secret twin brother who wants to take over the world! …Okay going a little too far there but still! What is his imperfection? Ow, my head hurts from thinking too much, ow…

"Um, you okay? Got a head ache?"

I had just brought my hand to my head and groaned a little in pain. "Y-yeah, don't worry about it…" The car was silent for a quick second.

"You get car sick easily don't you?"

I shrugged. "Kind of… It's not really carsickness it's just, I don't know. Complicated."

I heard Aaron chuckle. "I can see that… So, there's a movie at eight at Sunset Parlor if you want to watch it. It's that stupid horror movie we've all been hearing about."

I looked at him and smiled. "You like stupid horror movies?"

He smiled. "I love them; when people scream I laugh."

"Me too! They're so hilarious! Did you see 'The Haunting'?"

"Uh, the stupidest horror movie of life? Of course! That movie made me piss my pants I was laughing so hard!"

"No kidding! I did too, ha-ha! Ah, so what stupid horror movie are we gonna watch?"

He smiled wider into a big toothy grin. "Have you seen or heard of 'The Leprechaun'?"

I laughed, thinking he made up the name out of nowhere, especially since it was almost March. I looked at him, who was giving me a grin of total seriousness, and I gaped. "That's an actual movie? Who were they trying to sell to? The idiots? No one is going to watch that movie unless they enjoy stupid horror movies like us or want a movie to screw in!"

He laughed, "You'd be surprised by how much money they'll get. They're showing the original version that came out in the 90's but it's revised to HD so it should have better effects than the original."

Not really. Most are worse. "Huh… Okay, so, let's go see it," I said smiling towards him again. He gave me a sideways glance and a crooked smile. I felt stupefied at that moment, just because he gave me that look… What is it about him that makes me want to…melt and…evaporate…and almost want to… be… with… him… always…? … What's going on with me…? Just… What?

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

Because he paid for dinner, I paid for the tickets and any refreshments and snacks that we got. I didn't get a drink but Aaron wanted an Icee as I wanted Snow Caps so I bought both. It turns out he got the Icee for me, which was pretty sweet except for the fact that I used my own money to buy something I didn't want… Yeah, I told him politely that we should share so I wouldn't sound like a bitch or tell him off of why he shouldn't tell me he wants something when really he doesn't.

ANYWAY.

He didn't try anything, which I was very happy about, but then again I wasn't expecting him to anymore. He seemed like the patient guy so I was pleased none the less about him except for the Icee thing. But the fact that he was _too_ perfect bothered me; he was too much like my type of guy. Well, except for being a bad ass, which he shows to be but really isn't.

Another thing I realized is that he's hard to read, hard for me to know how he's feeling. Usually I can read people like a book but him… I'm having trouble. Maybe that's a sign? Hmm…

"So… I will warn you that there is a lot of weird stuff in the movie," Aaron said to me, leaning his head towards me so I could hear.

I leaned my head towards him saying, "I'm weird, anything here can't really be weirder than me."

Even though the theater was practically empty, there was still a group of college students in the front who were yelling random shit and laughing hard (probably drunk or high) so it was hard to hear each other. There was also a couple in the middle row already making out when the previews haven't even started yet (yuck). We were sitting in the way back so that we'd be out of everyone's way and wouldn't be seen. I guess he's the type of loner, too, like me. So that puts him into another click, I thought to myself as I popped a Snow Cap into my mouth.

"I don't think you're weird, I think you just express yourself of who you are. There's a difference between being weird and just being yourself."

I smiled at the thought that he didn't think I was weird, which was cute but pretty funny. "That's sweet of you, but I still think I'm weird." The lights started to fade to begin the commercials and previews, causing the college students to whoop and couple to get all over each other, making sucking noises. I really hope they don't start moaning in the middle of the movie.

I felt Aaron's breath next to my ear, giving me goose bumps. "But you're not."

I felt such an odd feeling come over me then; anxiety, angst, lust, want, need… After what seemed minutes he moved away from my ear and the feelings disappeared. I realized I was holding my breath and released it.

What the…

I turned to Aaron to see a blank look on his face. Was that what I was feeling…or was it his…? No, maybe I mistook the feelings for something else or someone else, most likely the couple ahead of us. I haven't gotten an emotion out of him all night and I know I've never felt like that. Yes, it must be the couple ahead of us. Wait, is that moaning? Oh, great. The movie hasn't even started yet and they're taking off their clothes. Well, this is gonna be fun.

So far, the movie is a riot. This evil leprechaun is all caged up and when someone releases him one night, he goes ballistic. He goes off killing people and looking for his gold and his accent is what cracks me up. (Every time the leprechaun spoke, even though I wasn't with him, I continuously thought of Brion.) Aaron laughed at a lot of this too but seemed more focused on something else. After about a quarter of the movie he couldn't stop moving, so I got worried.

"Hey… Are you alright?" I asked cautiously and concerned.

He nearly jumped out of his seat and looked at me. "Wh-what? O-oh, no, I, I'm fine… Just… Uh…" He looked away embarrassed.

I felt bad, and I wanted to let him know that I really was concerned, so I bit my lower lip and thought about how I could show it. After a minute of him twiddling with his fingers, I lifted the drink and arm bar that was between us, placing the drink into the cup holder to my left, scooted closer to him, and entwined my fingers with his.

He winced at my touch and stared at our hands for a minute, then looked up at me. I smiled sympathetically, hoping he'd know I really was concerned and that he couldn't see my light blush. We stayed like that, for roughly thirty seconds, before he slowly pulled me forward into a hug. My blush deepened, and I was completely surprised by this move, but accepted it anyway by not pulling away and staying stiff. There was a bloody scream during the movie and an evil laugh, but I ignored it. For some reason… This felt right… I felt him rest his head on the crook of my neck. It felt natural…just hugging him. He pulled me closer to him so that I was next to him, my thigh brushing next to his. This feels…right, correct, natural… Like I've known him forever. So strange…especially since I normally would be panicking right now because of how close we are, but I'm not.

I sighed deeply as I dug my head deeper into his neck.

He still felt cold… But colder than before. Maybe that's why he was fidgeting so much. "You know," I whispered, "if you're cold you could've told me and I'd keep you warm." I felt him stiffen up for a moment, then relax once more.

"It's…it's not…that…" he hesitated. I rubbed his back. "Then what is it… You told me earlier you could talk to me about anything… What's wrong?" Then I thought about something horrid, and I frowned at the thought. "Is it…me? Did I do something-"

He pulled me out of the hug and gripped my arms lightly to face me. "No, no it's not you at all… It's…me…really… It's just…" He looked away embarrassed, his eyes shifting uncomfortably in the dim light. "I've…never…had…a date who…understood me as well as…you…do…"

I blinked. Is that it? Was that really it? I sensed some truth to it, but also something underneath that truth, something that was true reason. I looked at him suspiciously. "Is that really it? Or is there something more?" He looked at me both painfully and sympathetically, then looked away, taking deep breaths. I knitted my eyebrows in concern, tilting my head slightly to the side. "Aaron…?" He looked back at me, and I felt the same feelings as earlier.

"I…" He pulled me into a harsh hug, holding me close to his body.

My hands rested on his chest, and I felt pure muscle underneath his shirt, making me even more attracted to him despite the situation. "… A…Aaron…?" I asked, trying not to show my fright but failing miserably. He put his face towards my neck, and whispered, "I'm sorry… I… I really do like you…" More screaming in the movie. I felt his quick breathing chest against my hands, and Aaron petting the hair at my neck. I wondered what was wrong, if it really was him or he was lying to make me feel better, then I thought of something else.

Maybe…

Maybe he's not used to being with a girl for so long. That'd make sense, since he felt like he could tell me anything and was surprised. Hmm… I realized right then that I should be getting creeped out at the fact that he's this close to me, saying that to me, and petting my hair. Why wasn't I getting freaked out? I pondered on that, thinking it probably has been maybe 5 or 7 minutes by now. Was I really that comfortable with him? Or perhaps-

"Ow!" I suddenly felt a sudden pang of pain come into my neck. I pulled myself away from him, or tried to, and when he didn't budge I hit his chest. And when that didn't work, I bit his neck. Hard. This caused him to yelp and pull away, looking shocked as he rubbed his neck. I gave him a questionable look, it alone asking the question 'What the hell was that?'

Another wave of pain came to my neck and I gasped, unconsciously putting my hand to the left side of my neck. "Ow! What were you doing? That hurt!" I pouted, glared, and growled somehow all at the same time.

He looked at me in a combination of complete horror, shock, and- is that wonder?- and stared at me like that for a good few moments. I repeated my question, which woke him up from his phase. "I-I'm sorry… I thought…that…maybe you wouldn't mind…a…hickie…?" He turned away deeply blushing, still rubbing his neck that had teeth marks and is now turning red.

Bull shit, I thought to myself, Not even hickies can hurt this bad. The pain resided slightly by now but it still hurt a little. I turned myself back to the movie, which there was that freaky leprechaun mocking someone. The movie wasn't that funny anymore after that little slip-up, and I started to wonder why I bought the tickets. I took a sneak peek at my phone to see the time and it was only the middle of the movie. I watched puzzled at the movie, wondering what sick bastard made this movie. Let's see, there's the sick director Tim Burton but he's an _awesome_ sick bastard that makes _awesome_ movies with Johnny Depp in two or three of his movies. Oh, Johnny Depp… He is so _hott _he deserves two 't's in 'hot'. I can drool about him any day…

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned to look at Aaron again. He had a bashful look to him, and he pulled me into a hug again, only this time he rested his forehead against mine instead of my neck. I felt uncomfortable about the short distance between us, but again accepted it anyway. I was starting to hope he wasn't a sissy-momma's boy. But, then I felt his emotions. Guilt, sorrow, and one more I couldn't recognize…

He gripped my arms tighter. I shifted my eyes up to see Aaron's violet ones. Suddenly, just by looking at them, I felt hypnotized. I stared at his eyes dreamily, forgetting my previous pain, forgetting what just happened but…not forgetting I was with him. He moved so that his nose was touching the tip of my own. I didn't know what was coming over me, or why I started to feel this way, but I felt a sudden want of _him_. I started feeling… lustful…

He moved his body towards me more, leaving his hands held tightly at my hips. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck as I tossed my head so that my bangs were out of my face. We stayed like that for what seemed forever, a pleasant forever. I moved one of my arms so that I could touch his cheek with my hand, looking at his lips. I bit my lower lip and looked back up to his eyes. I saw a fire burning in him, causing his violet eyes to brighten to a light purple color and a desperate look came upon his countenance. I had a staggered breathing now; just by him touching me sent electricity and whatever I touched him with to burn. He leaned his head back again on my forehead, his nose against mine, and I looked at him with half-closed eyes. I closed my eyes as I felt his quick breath against my lips. I leaned in slowly, expecting a-

WHOA. STOP RIGHT THERE, GIRLY.

Just as he was about to close the space between us I turned away and he kissed my cheek instead. It felt warm, and sent an electric current throughout my body, making it even harder to breathe. What was I thinking?

"I, I'm sorry…" I tried to gasp. What was wrong with me? "I don't know…What came over me…" Almost kissing a guy I don't know completely about? What _did_ come over me?

I felt Aaron slide his lips against my cheek, giving me chills and goose bumps (in a way I like it but knew it was bad) and move away, already missing his touch. I looked back to him smiling at me so warmly…it made me warm… I heard a sound of an Irish shrieking and turned my head to see the leprechaun stuck in a safe. What on Earth…? I frowned at the screen. It might be because of the disappointment with myself, but this movie was way past funny. It was pathetic. And sad.

I felt his lips brush my cheek bone and I gasped at the touch. I turned my head back to face Aaron, his lips following my turn until they were on my nose. I couldn't breathe. I kept looking up at his eyes, his beautiful eyes…

For a moment we stayed like that, until finally he spoke: "Want to ditch the movie? It's not worth watching anymore…"

His breath smelled like peppermint, and I wondered if he was expecting a kiss. I stayed fixed at his eyes until I had the sense to nod. Backing away from me, he smiled, and I felt his happiness. I'm not sure how but my legs were somehow on top of his and he lifted them, keeping a hand at my waist, and put them on the cold seat that I was sitting on. He stood up, looking at me I guess to make sure I got up ok. I stood up quickly and immediately regretted it when the world spun and my head hurt, especially my neck. I fell back into the seat and Aaron was next to me before I landed. I tried getting up again, successfully doing so with only a headache, and followed Aaron down the stairs holding his hand.

Where the couple were, clothes were everywhere at that row and I would've sworn I saw two naked bodies intertwined with each other. The college students were all asleep at the front of the theater except for two who were drawing all over the other's faces. Real mature.

I walked past Aaron to throw away the Icee that we were 'sharing'. As I past him he brushed my hair over my left shoulder. I questioned it for a moment, then realized I didn't really care why he did. I was concentrating on getting the hell out of here. Besides, I didn't really care that he did it anyway… Didn't I just think that? Dammit Audrey stop being repetitive!

We reached the exit of the mall within ten minutes and found the car in one. He apologized for making me pay for such a stupid movie when I realized I left a quarter full box of my Snow Caps there. I shrugged it off and told him it was no big deal. He insisted on paying me back his ticket though and I had to accept without much persuasion.

The ride home was silent. I looked over to Aaron who kept his eyes on the road. He is so strange, I thought to myself. And unpredictable. First he's cool-like and bad-ass like, then he's romantic, then he's funny, then he's super happy, then he's nervous, then sympathetic, horny, back to happy, and now serene. What the hell was up with this boy? Make up your mind!

When we reached my house, he turned off the car and ran to my side to open it for me. Again, I took his hand, this time having trouble standing up due to feeling dizzy again and having to say good bye.

"Um, thank you, for the date…"

He smiled. "Anytime love," and he bent over to plant a kiss on my forehead.

I gasped again, losing my breath, my heart not beating… It only lasted for a brief second though because he leaned back to see me and winked. "Maybe we can go on another one sometime," he smiled.

I blinked back in response, thinking about it, then decided that the date wasn't that bad and grinned back, nodding. "Good night."

He nodded and walked back to his car. I watched him as he slipped into his car, turned it on, which I couldn't see him do but heard him do due to his tinted windows, and drive away. I felt a feeling of satisfaction drift away with him.

Why…? I thought. What are you doing to me? What is it about you that makes me feel so…defenseless and, well, weak? And yet…wonderful and happy? I feel like I've known you my whole life… When I haven't at all. I feel it's so natural to be around you… When I don't know why…

Aaron… What is going to happen to us?

And mostly… What is happening to me?

I stared at his car until it disappeared from my vision while thinking those thoughts. Finally I just sighed, shaking my head and walked inside my house, locking the door behind me, and tip-toed down the hall to my room. I walked into my room to see a sleeping Kylie on my bed.

I smiled, thinking it was typical she'd wait until I came home to hear about everything. I put my purse on my desk quietly and looked to see what time it was: 9:41 PM. Wow, pretty early I must say… But, I'm not going to complain on catching up on sleep missed by nightmares. I sighed, taking off my shoes that killed my feet, and walked into the bathroom.

The first thing I saw was Andie passed out on the toilet. I'm guessing he didn't take the weed all too well and so he vomited. A lot. The smell made it pretty obvious. The light was already on so I didn't have to worry about that. When I turned to see myself in the mirror, I saw my wavy hair still all on my left shoulder with a slightly oily face now and my bangs placed messily around my face. I sighed in relief that I didn't look as bad I thought I had as I brushed my hair back.

When I opened my eyes to see my reflection I shrieked softly at what I saw on my neck, gapping at it. There, in my hair, was crusty red liquid. Shocked, I went to see how it got there; I didn't remember getting any of the Icee in my hair. Maybe Aaron…? I saw some of its crustiness on my neck, but there wasn't a visible mark as far as I could see. I shook my head, tsk-ing at myself, as I grabbed a washcloth and wet it so I could wash it out of my hair and off my neck. The red didn't come off as easily as I thought it would, taking more than a couple of minutes to get it out of my hair. After maybe a good 15 minutes of rinsing it out of my hair, I rinsed the cloth and started at my neck. It was extra sensitive though, more than usual, and I had to pat it to take it off. This took much longer and eventually most of it came off. I checked the side of my neck near my ear, and I saw where most of the liquid was. I looked very closely to see two small red dots near my hairline, and it was what caused the liquid to appear. So…if this wasn't from the Icee…it was my blood-

I didn't dare breathe. I put the cloth over the marks and I started to breathe again very slowly while closing my eyes. I wish I didn't faint at the sight of blood now. I looked up to the ceiling and took deeper, choppy breaths. I thought of how this could have happened, how I am…bleeding… and how I happen to have it there of all places.

I thought back to before the date, nothing could've happened there.

During dinner? No, we weren't near anything harmful except for my knife that was kept to the side of my plate at all times due to my phobia.

The car ride? No.

The movies? I don't think so. Wait, wasn't there at some point when…

It all came back to me, starting when Aaron was fidgeting around randomly. The scene came to my mind foggy, yet clear, remembering all the way during the hugs to when I felt that sharp wave of pain. But…it was just a hickie, right? How could he have caused me to…yeah? But, that was no hickie I've ever seen… Or rather felt. And I've had hickies before.

After a while of thinking, and nothing coming to mind, I just shook the thought off, or tried to rather. I took the cloth off and placed a Band-Aid on top of my wound. I changed into my pajamas and pulled out the extra bed underneath my original. I pulled back the covers and crawled inside, enjoying the nice comfy covers. A specific book I was reading for English caught my eye, and a 'logical' thought came to mind.

What if… No, there's no possible way, no such thing.

I scoffed at it and turned to my side, trying to ignore my stupid thought.

No…

There was no way…

No possible way…

That vampires exist…

And that Aaron is one of them…

What a stupid thought…

* * *

**_A/N Update: I feel so much better right now. This chapter was one of the chapters that really bothered me. And I honestly don't know why I have a warning sign but figured I'd keep it anyway just in case, even though this is already rated as 'T'. Anyway, as usual, lemme know your thoughts. ~_**


	8. CHAPTER 7: 'Sick  '

**CHAPTER 7: 'Sick _=(_ '**

I woke up the next morning with a ferocious fever and a horrible headache. I felt horrible, and I didn't know how I could've gotten sick. I mostly had a high fever and nothing else. A few times my stomach churned but nothing other than that. Yet. Andie wanted to take me to the hospital after I reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I told him it would die down after an hour, and I made sure it did by putting ice packs on my forehead. I cooled down by 4 degrees, allowing Andie to not take me to the emergency room, but I now had a major ice headache that hurt like hell. Kylie had to leave as soon as I woke up so she left without knowing I was ill. Everywhere hurt and ached. The place where it hurt the most was my neck, where my wound was. It hurt to just touch it and I had a foggy memory of how I got it, but I knew Aaron had something to do with it at the theaters.

I was lying on my bed now; a Sprite wrapped in ice packs was on my dresser next to my bed along with my cell phone and book. I wanted to go do something but my head hurt from the ice packs and my body hurt and ached due to the fever. I tried drifting off to sleep a couple of times but Andie would walk in panicking that I wouldn't wake up. Typical Andie not knowing _anything_ about medical science. Ugh. My head… Mum's out working along with father, so they don't know I'm sick either. Why are they working on a Saturday? No idea. But I'm feeling the pain. Literally.

I moaned and turned to my side, growling when the sunlight hit my face. I put a pillow over my window and felt suddenly better. I sighed satisfied, smiling to my success of blocking the sun. I decided that I'd try to sleep again, since Andie hasn't been in my room for the past hour. But just as soon as I thought of him, I heard footsteps into my room. Speak of the devil and he shall come, I thought bitterly to myself.

"How's my patient doing?" he asked, sitting next to me. I groaned in response. "I take that as a 'getting better'," he said, and he put the pillow out of the window. I hissed at the sudden sunlight infiltrating my sight and just as he did so my eyes started hurting and my headache got worse. "ANDIE! YOU IDIOT PUT IT BACK!" I screamed as I threw one of my arms over my eyes. The light that were in front of my eye lids disappeared into darkness again, and I sighed in relief.

"Andie," I growled, "When someone isn't feeling well, and they put a pillow on the window to block out the sun, you KEEP it there, got it?" I opened my eyes to glare at him. "And, you let them SLEEP so they can GET BETTER. CAPESH?" I yelled as I ended my statement, causing another knife of pain slice through my head. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously. "Y-yeah, I understand, I just don't want you to go into a coma or some-"

"I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO A COMA, YOU IDIOT! I DON'T HAVE A CONCUSSION!" Seriously! What the hell! For having a high IQ he sure isn't using it! He looked away from me, giving a look of defeat and slight guilt. Only slight though.

"L-look, I just came in here to check up on you and to see what else you want, 'cause, well…"

I narrowed my eyes. "Spit it out already," I snapped. He looked up to my ceiling, it suddenly looking interesting to him. "Well… You see… There's this girl in my Home-Ec class and-"

"You asked her on a date," I finished.

He looked back to me and smiled. "Yeah… So… I wanted to ask-"

"If you could go and if I could take care of myself," I finished again.

He chuckled. "Yep, you got it. So, what's your answer?"

I closed my eyes and thought about it. Ok, pros: no Andie in house means more sleep, no disruptions, peace, and time alone, which is all what I need. However, cons: if anything were to happen to me, no one would be here to help, if it turns out my illness is worse than both of us thought and I need to go to the hospital, no one could take me (no car), if I happen to fall into a coma for no apparent reason no one could call 911, and most of the other reasons deal with hospitals and no one being able to take me. So, which is better? Peace or possible critical illness with no one able to take me to the emergency room? Hmm… Now that's a toughie. But, sleep usually does outweigh all options, and Andie does need a night out… He's been stressed lately…

You know what, I thought to myself, "Go, you need this night out," I finished my thought out loud.

He blinked, smiling, "Really? You don't mind if I leave you here?" I shook my head. "Nope, you go enjoy yourself. When are you going?" He leaned back, stretching his arms and upper torso. "I'm going to pick her up at 1:30; it's an early date."

I whistled. "Wow, that is early. Why so?"

"She has to work at 7 so she wanted an early date. Cute as a button though, her name's Shirley Cosgrove. Ring any bells?"

Yes, it did.

"Isn't she one of those slutty, no brain cheerleaders? Slut #18, I believe," I mumbled out loud by accident (not really).

He rolled his eyes at me and frowned. "No, she isn't. Well, I mean, yeah she's a cheerleader but she isn't a slut or an idiot; she's very kind and pretty cute. We have some common interests and she is in fact quitting cheer leading after this year," smiled proudly.

I kept a look of indifference. "Huh, well that's nice I suppose… Just warning you don't try anything weird or too romantic 'cause she tells her slut friends and jock friends everything and- before you interrupt, let me finish- she may seem nice at first but she might turn into a devil like Cherry did."

He tried to interrupt me but stayed quiet, wincing at Cherry's name. "R-right… Well then…" He got up and I frowned. "Where are you going?" He walked towards the bathroom. "To get dressed for the date; it's 12 now so I should probably start getting ready." I nodded in understanding, shrugging afterwards. "Well, ok… Oh, and Andie?" He turned around as he opened the door. "Yes?" he asked, feeling expectancy from him. (Is that even a mood?)

He probably thought I was going to say something useful, but instead I was going to mock him. I smiled in my sweet, mocking way, saying, "She's quitting cheer leading next year because she's going to college." I watched him as he gave me a hard look of whether wanting to hurt me or leave it alone. Finally he groaned loudly and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door. I laughed, and, despite my throbbing headache, I started to feel much better, especially after hearing him yell through the door, "I'm glad you're feeling well enough to be a bitch, AYTM," causing me to laugh even more.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I sighed peacefully, knowing I was going to be alone for a few hours. Andie left at 1 to pick up his slut date, Kylie called to know how I was doing and to confirm she was going to come over, and I was alone for the time being. And it felt so good. I sighed again as I went to go to sleep. My body didn't feel comfortable at the position it was in, and I turned to my other side. After a few minutes, that position wasn't comfortable, and I turned on my back. This position was comfortable for 30 seconds before I had to turn yet again onto my stomach.

Finally, I'm comfortable. Now to sleep…

Close…

Close…

Close God damn it close…

Why won't my eyes close?

UGH! I give up! I groaned loudly and angrily, sitting up in my bed. I looked around the room, figuring out what to do. My cell came to view, and I decided I would text someone. Let's see… Who to text… Kylie. Yeah, she's coming over soon, but whatever.

'Hi' I sent her.

Less than a minute later she sent back, 'Hey there, how u doin?'

I replied back, 'Not so well, sick =('

'I know u told me lol but any better than earlier?'

'Not really… When are you coming over?'

'Soon, in like 30 min or so. Ill ttyl cause Im gonna drive now. Bye! xoxo'

I sighed sadly. 'Ok… See ya later.'

Well that was a quick conversation. I looked ahead and saw the bathroom in all its glory. Inside the bathroom the shower, it being open, was as if begging me to hop in. "Hmm… A shower couldn't hurt," I mumbled and I made sure everything was blinded and covered. I undressed and stepped inside while turning the water on. _Freezing. Cold. Water. Came. Out._ I nearly screamed as the chilly water ran over my warm body. I stepped out immediately and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my shoulders to keep myself warm. I shivered wondering how Andie managed to shower in cold water or use all the hot water in 5 minutes. I stuck my foot into the water and the test came out to be warm. I put the towel back and stepped in again, sighing happily at the warm water but still shivering.

The water felt weird because of my extra sensitive skin due to being sick, but I enjoyed it none the less. I didn't want my fever to get worse so I made sure that the water didn't get too hot, but the weirdest thing was that when the water hit my neck, not only did it hurt like hell but also the water was extremely cold. Everywhere else, the water was almost too warm and closer to hot but at the marks… Very, very cold. I frowned at that, wondering if it was infected or something. Well, that'd be extremely bad, considering that I just got this last night. But, how could I have gotten an infection already? But it would make sense at the same time of why I would have a fever. Hmm…

I pondered about that as I finished my shower and shut the water off. I stepped out of the shower to dry myself and got dressed so that I could open the blinds and let some sunlight in. Of course, it hurt my eyes but putting the pillows back to cover the windows made it feel better. A thought that suggested to just close the blinds appeared, but that would've been too simple. Besides, I like the sun when it doesn't hurt my eyes. I wrapped my towel around my wet hair like a turban and felt like I was a walking queen with all that weight on my head.

I walked around my room, wondering what the hell to do, when my book caught my eye. I looked at it, blinking several times before I shrugged and decided I'd read. I leaned over to pick it up and brought it to my bed. Plopping onto it I opened to the page I last dog-eared and started to read.

Well, the book sure isn't getting better grammatically, but the plot is thickening up. The saying that books are always better than the movie is completely true. The movie I thought wasn't really that good, but the book… I didn't think I could put it down but I saw that I could, since it had been a few hours since I had last picked up the book. I had long passed the part of the book with the Black Eyed Peas vampires (hmm, maybe that should be a band name or something…) and now Ed was super jumpy and anal, yet freakishly romantic in a weird, vampire way. Bella, being Bella, was still too self-absorbed and pathetic enough to do anything about it. I swear, if she were a real person, I would have smacked her so hard she'd fly to China and back only to be hit by-

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard my ringtone go off next to me. I sighed in relief as I reached towards my phone and checked to see who it was. 'Unknown'…

Should I answer?

Eh, why not. Not like I got anything better to do

"Hello?" my voice cracked. I cleared my throat.

"Hey there, stranger," the receiver replied, the voice being very familiar.

I tried to cock an eyebrow but failed because of my lack of talent. "Who is this…?"

The voice chuckled. "Don't you recognize your boyfriends' voice when you hear it, dove?"

I glared at the wall. How did he find my number? "Shane, you are not my boyfriend for the I-don't-know-how-many-eth time so leave. Me. _Alone_. We're not even _dating,_ in fact we've never even _gone on_ a date."

I heard a snort. "Baby, we've _been_ dating. Wha- what cha talking about? I think we need to settle this over dinner."

I grabbed a pencil from my desk and tightened my grip around it. "Leave me alone, Shane."

"But baby-!"

_Click._

My grip loosened and I sighed relieved.

_Tap tap tap._

I froze at the spot, and turned slowly to the window.

Don't move the pillow, Audrey. We both know who will most likely be there…

"Audrey? Are you there? You left something in my car…"

I smiled and sighed in relief. I stood up and peeked behind the pillow. Behind it, in a tree next to the house, was Aaron. He was wearing baggy jeans with a red t-shirt and blazer. He had large black sun glasses covering his eyes as he looked away from my window, tapping on the branch he was sitting on almost nervously.

I smiled and stepped away from the window to check my hair. I felt my towel instead, and I realized that my hair is still in a turban; crap. I tugged the towel off my head and ruffled my hair so it would look somewhat natural and ran to the mirror. I made it look somewhat normal there, fixing my t-shirt and sweatpants to take out the wrinkles that kept reappearing, and walked back to the window.

There were a number of things I didn't do this morning, for example eat anything or brush my teeth. However, I didn't want him to leave so I'd rather look somewhat good than not at all. I pulled away the pillow and looked through the window, 'curious' to see who it was. Aaron looked back to the window and he smiled his toothy grin. I lifted the window pane, winced at the even more menacing sunlight, and leaned out the window smiling.

"You know, you could just knock on the front door to see if I'm home," I hummed, leaning my cheek against the palm of my hand. He chuckled and put a hand against the wall next to the window. "I did but no one answered, so I figured that maybe you were sleeping, but now I see that you were showering," he looked at my wet hair, then my shirt, and back to my face.

I blushed lightly and looked away with a small smile. "Didn't know you'd be coming over…" I closed my eyes then because of the light, the pain behind my eyes and head reminding me of my awful headache. "Um… you want to come inside…? The sun's been my enemy all day."

He laughed and I stepped away from the window to let him in. He slipped one leg through the window and the rest of his body followed. I sat on my un-made bed and kept looking at Aaron. "So… What did I leave in your car?" He took off his sun glasses and dug his hand into his pocket. He took out several green, rectangle shaped papers and handed them to me.

I looked at the money and gave Aaron a puzzled look. "What's this for?" I asked, taking the money anyway. "The movie, remember? I said I'd pay you back," he smiled and sat down on the bed next to me. I did remember, and I smiled. "Ah, so that's why…"

He smiled back, then gave me a worried look. "Are you ok? You don't look well…" I sighed, rubbing where my neck hurt. "No, not really… I've been running a fever all day, plus the sun light hurts my eyes for some reason… Not to mention my huge headache and aching neck."

He frowned and his look softened. "I'm sorry… I hope I didn't have anything to do with this… If I did I'm really sorry…"

I remembered something from last night, and I thought now was the best time to ask. "Well, actually… I was wondering if you knew how I got this…" I pulled my hair away from the left side of my neck and tilted my head away from him to show the marks on my neck. "It's been hurting since this morning and I found it last night… It looked like it had been bleeding for a while though before I found it. You have any idea h-OW!"

I looked at Aaron and he smiled sheepishly and guiltily with his hand extended towards my neck. "S-sorry… Um, I guess I should've asked first…" I smiled back, shaking my head. "No, I don't mind. Just be gentle because it's extremely tender."

I titled my head again and felt his touch. I winced, but nothing more as he caressed it. "Have you tried icing it?" I heard him ask. "No," I replied, keeping my voice even despite the slight tingling sensation, "I didn't even think of that actually." I felt his fingers pull away and I sighed inwardly relieved.

"Then come on," and I felt his hand on mine. I looked back at him and he helped me stand up. "Come on what?" He smiled and wrapped his fingers between my own. "Ice your cut." I smiled and lead him to the kitchen.

"You know it's technically not a cut. I don't know what it is actually," I told him, opening my bedroom door. I heard a number of yelps and I looked down to see Marcy barking a storm. "Marcy! Hi girl!" She strutted past me and went to Aaron, sniffing him nervously. "I'm guessing this is your dog?" he smiled, letting go of my hand to kneel next to Marcy.

She growled and bared her teeth, shocking me greatly; she never growls at anyone. "Marcy! Where are your manners?" I said, not in my usual high, childish speak-to-animals voice. I kneeled next to her as she gave me a guilty look and whimpered softly. "I am so sorry, Aaron," I apologized, rubbing the fur on her snout as she closed her eyes and made a strange sound at the back of her throat, "she never growls at anyone, well, until now, but she's never growled at anyone…"

He smiled, keeping his contact with Marcy. She turned to stare at Aaron for a moment, then barked, happily wagging her tail and panting. Again, I was surprised at the sudden change of behavior. I immediately assumed that Andie gave her the wrong dog food again, and I hoped he didn't give her chocolate.

She grinned her doggy grin as Aaron reached over and scratched her repeatedly behind her ears, causing them to flop all over the place. "It's alright, for some reason all dogs growl at me but most of them get to know me and end up loving me. No idea why." I gave him a small smile, then looked back to Marcy who was now lying on her stomach resting her head on her front paws. I smiled slightly wider and rubbed her back, causing her to groan. I giggled quietly and, from what I could see in my perpetual vision, Aaron looked at me. I don't know what the look on his face was, but I think I saw him smile. I looked back at him and he looked back to Marcy. I frowned slightly but shrugged it off.

A small wave of pain to my neck reminded me why we were outside of my room, and I stood up so I could go to the kitchen. Aaron watched me stand and he followed my lead, causing Marcy to realize that she wasn't being petted on her tummy anymore and cock her head to look at us with big puppy eyes. Good thing I can resist them (barely). I turned away to walk to the kitchen and Aaron swiftly brushed his hand against mine; I kept walking with Marcy now at my heels.

"So you think icing it will really help? Because it's really been bothering me all day… Not to include the headache… Besides an infection would explain the 105 fever I've had-"

"You have a 105 fever?!"

I side-way glanced at Aaron, who was giving me a look of astonishment. "Yeah, well, now 102, I think, thanks to icing my head for an hour, thus my headache… Anyway back to fun thoughts, that's why I think it might be an infection because of that. It makes sense." I leaned over to open the freezer and pulled out an ice container.

"I am pretty sure that you don't have an infection… Besides… Infections aren't made overnight. They take a while to collect bacteria, if you know what I mean…" I closed the freezer door and stood up to look at Aaron. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, staring at me blankly. I'm starting to think he has major mood swings or something.

A thought suddenly came to me and I froze, not being able to breathe: I am alone with a guy other than my father or brother in my house with no phone on me and no one to hear my screams if anything were to happen, meaning that _he_ could do something, anything, to me, meaning that I am completely _vulnerable…_

_Breathe._

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It must've seemed weird that I stopped all of the sudden; I have to say something so it looked like I was thinking of something: "Um, I know that infections don't come easily, in one night I mean, but, don't deep cuts or injuries do?" I looked around for a weapon near me in case of anything and saw nothing useful while trying not to be suspicious.

"That's a different case though. Your _flesh_ is exposed in that case, yours isn't."

I looked through the drawers to find something, anything, to use. Damn my paranoia-

"What're you looking for?" A weapon so you can't rape me if you decide to, despite how much I kind of trust you… Also a rag for the ice, so, I should say, "A rag for the ice; I don't want to freeze or something." I heard him chuckle.

I opened another drawer, and next to the rags were the forks, spoons, knives, and pointy sticks; forks will hurt me, spoons aren't dangerous as far as I'm concerned, I'm afraid of knives, and the pointy sticks are my best choice. I smirked, making sure it was to the opposite side of Aaron, and I grabbed a rag, hiding a pointy stick in it. "Found them," I chirped. I wrapped the rag around the blue container and made sure that the weapon was not in view, then placed it on my neck. I winced to the sudden coldness in comparison to the rest of my body.

"Heh, I doubt you'll freeze because of only a section of your body cold, but I see why you'd want to cover the ice." I chuckled with him and pulled out a chair from the table in the middle of the kitchen, gesturing for him to sit down. He smirked and stood up slowly, taking his time walking the short distance from the counter to the chair. I pulled out another for myself and he finally sat down. I stepped on the chair and brought myself on top of the table.

"Well, I thought chairs were for sitting on, not stepping on," he commented, looking up to meet my gaze. I smiled, chuckling a little. "Yeah, well, I'm not exactly one to follow life rules per say." He smirked as he brought his elbow to the table top and rested his cheek on his fist. "Heh, neither am I, despite being a bit of a goody-goody… Honestly, I work for the grades and try not to get caught on campus, but outdoors I am prone to breaking the rules."

I raised an eyebrow, failing horribly, keeping in mind the weapon near my neck. "How so?" He shifted to his left, causing him to lean more on his elbow, and closed his eyes. "Well… I'm not a druggie for one-" I sighed in relief "-but I for one hate following the rules of society… Hell, I hate rules in general… I feel like laws and rules and whatever are bands that hold you back, that suffocates you, keeps you from everything you want to do and that tries to control you… And I hate control…"

He opened his eyes slowly and his light violet eyes were dark as he looked beyond the kitchen and its walls. "Control… It causes fear, force, obedience, and lies… Once under control, it's hard to escape. Once _in_ control, however, there _is_ no escape. That itself brings order, which is like a drug, an _addiction_, something that everyone wants to gain in this so-called society," he spat, putting such bitter emphasis on 'addiction'.

I sat there, listening, and realized everything he was saying was true.

And yet…everything he was saying…he was saying so hatefully and with such bitterness… I know… He goes through this every day, and despises it so much… He probably wants to escape… What ever it is he's having to deal with, anyway…

"If anything… I dream of a world, a _society_, with no unfair rules or laws or control or anything that keeps one from their dreams, from themselves, their homes, their families, their lovers, their lives, their everything… Anything that forces them to subdue themselves to something they're not… None of it…" He lifted his head as if trying to see over something, keeping his arm on the table. "… I want to be one of those people… Who are free of rules and laws and control… That's why I can't stand them… I can barely tolerate them… As soon as I find a way to get away from it… I will." He kept that glazed dreamy look that went past the walls and, well, this moment. His eyes were still dark, but not in a creepy way; more like, a dreamy hatred way.

I've never thought that he'd have that kind of side to him… The kind of side that's hateful, almost pure, dark hatred. I suppose he's had a bad childhood with control and his parents.

Poor Aaron… Maybe I should say something…?

It's been quiet for too long… He narrowed his eyes in thought. Say something! I thought to myself.

"I…have a phobia of knives…"

What the hell Audrey? Is that the best that you could think up of?

Shut up me!

Aaron snapped out of his thoughts and looked at me as if he had just woken up. His eyes were light violet again. "Wh-what?" he stuttered, trying to wake up from his thoughts still. I felt my cheeks sting a little as I blushed and I looked away embarrassed. The drawstrings of my sweatpants were suddenly interesting as I played with it with one hand.

"I…have…a phobia…of knives… When I was little… really young…my brother somehow got a hold of a large cutting knife… It was used mostly to cut beef so you could imagine how…" I shivered at the thought of its sharpness. "Anyway… When my mother tried taking the knife out of his hand, he ended up throwing it and it got her leg. It was so bad we had to take her to the hospital…" I swallowed slowly, closing my eyes. "The memory itself is enough to send my skin crawling… Ever since I witnessed that I have been deathly afraid of knives… And I faint at the sight of blood…"

I opened my eyes and looked up to the ceiling, trying to find a point to this. "I guess… What I'm trying to say… Is that if you… Find a way to achieve your dream… I'll find a way to get over this impossible phobia…" I looked at him and gave him a very small smile. "I know this isn't anything compared to what you were talking about… But… This has been affecting me for almost twelve years. I can't even hold a knife in my own hand without the fear of stabbing myself; it's that bad. And it's even worse when other people are holding one. Especially Andie…"

I looked away again ashamed. "I keep a calm expression but under it I am freaking out so badly that I have to excuse myself from the table at times so I could calm down. It's embarrassing, really… I never tell people about it because of it… They'd think I'm a crazy lunatic or something… But…" I looked back at him, feeling an even stronger tingling in my cheeks as I blushed more. "I trust you."

And yet you're holding a weapon in your hand, Audrey.

Shut up.

He kept a blank look as he listened to me, and after a moment he finally spoke, "You look adorable when you blush." He smiled and I turned away, now my entire face tingling; it was probably tomato red. "Y-y-you're supposed to be saying something to make me f-feel better!" I stuttered furiously and embarrassed. I pursed my lips in frustration; I tell him something that I _never_ tell anyone and he tells me I'm 'adorable'? Ha! Watch me tell _him_ anything ever again!

I felt a sudden draft towards my right side and turned my head to see red fabric. I looked up and blushed a little more when realizing his face was near mine.

Think, think

He was giving me a small smile, and I saw a little stubble around his cheeks and chin. "Ok… Then how about you tell me what your dream is since you're trying to comfort me?"

Damn. Why didn't I think of that instead of telling him about my stupid phobia?

I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows, and looked away. In a small voice, I said, "I… I don't have one, really… Only nightmares…"

I glanced back at him, who was looking at me puzzled. "You know I meant-"

"Yes, I know."

He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned against the table next to me. "Then… How can you only have nightmares instead of dreams?"

I gave him a sympathetic smile and looked away. "Well… When all of your dreams that you've been wishing and wishing for either don't come true or become crushed… You begin to dream of nightmares. Of how you might end up, instead of wanting to end up. You begin to think negatively instead of positive, and end up tripping everywhere, trying to find a place in the world, just as your nightmares have been leading you to. You realize that your prince charming will never come and rescue you, that he'll instead scoff at you and think of what a stupid little peasant you are. Realization comes to you in an early age, and you circle your life around it as you watch all of the other children play their innocent games. No one wants to be friends with a mature child, so they ignore her and keep playing with other innocent kids. But she tries to be friends. She does, but all but one don't want to play with a girl who knows too much about the world… And even when you sleep… The nightmares haunt you… And you realize you're not in Kansas anymore… And that they're real… And they're never going to leave…

"I don't believe in dreams anymore," I said after a brief pause, "They only cause pain and suffering to those who can never achieve it… It's almost better to dream of a nightmare that you don't want to happen and follow a path opposite to it…" I realized that I've been talking too much and looked up to a thoughtful Aaron. I gave him a fake wide grin. "But, that's no reason for you to not follow yours," I said cheerfully. "That's just my opinion."

He met my gaze and I felt like I was under an interrogation lamp. However, I couldn't look away. I felt obligated to keep his gaze until he broke it. And he did.

He looked away and shifted himself off the table. He took two small steps towards me and I reminded myself of the weapon near my neck. He put both of his arms on either side of me, and I reached for the weapon with my right hand just in case.

He looked at me in the eyes, his face very near my own. "I know it is, and that's one of the reasons why I'm attracted to you," he said, smoothly in a low voice. I felt a lump in my throat and I couldn't breathe. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

He put one finger to my gapping lips and shushed me. "Give me one minute," he whispered, and he walked slowly towards the door frame, almost tip-toed.

What is he doing? I thought. When he reached the frame, he put one hand on the frame and stood there. Then, as quick as lightning, he struck his other hand through the frame and to his right.

I heard a yelp as Aaron pulled out a person behind the frame. The person had jean skinnies with backless silver sandals and a large purse to match with it. They were also wearing a flowing brown shirt that was tight towards the chest then baggier towards their hips until it was overflowing the elastic band. They also had long, brown curly hair and blue eyes…

"Kylie!" I gasped. "Were you eavesdropping?"

I knew she probably was, and I didn't mind that she heard what I was saying about dreams or knives (she knows more about them than anyone else) but what if she heard what Aaron was saying earlier? I don't know if he cares but I certainly do.

"U-um, not completely," she laughed nervously. Aaron was holding her by her forearm, shaking his head. "You're horrible at sneaking… But then again I didn't even hear you open the door, so not too bad."

Kylie pouted, "I'm not that bad… And that's because I have my own key to the house, and Audrey knew I'd be coming over sometime today, so I thought there was no need to knock. However… I wasn't expecting you to be here…" She looked suspiciously at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, I wasn't expecting him today either, but he's here and you're here and that's all that matters." I removed the ice from my neck and rubbed my numb neck. No pain. I blinked surprised, "Hey, it's gone…"

Aaron smirked as he let go of Kylie, who was rubbing her forearm angrily while trying to glare at him. "I told you it would, and it worked. See, you should listen to me more."

I raised my eyebrows, questioning him. "When didn't I listen?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh please, stop flirting or I'll leave," Kylie tried to growl; she can never glare or growl at someone or anyone unless she was super pissed, which she wasn't now; she was just annoyed. Still, I didn't want her to leave.

"No don't leave!" I begged jumping from the table to Kylie, ignoring my disappearing headache.

"No!" she whined playfully, looking away with her nose to the air and arms crossed.

Aaron raised an eyebrow at us.

"Pweaaase," I begged in a childish voice.

"No."

"But but…"

"No."

"I have coffee ice cweam."

"No."

"With lots of lemonade," I hummed.

"…What kind of lemonade?"

"Simply."

She ran passed me and to my fridge. "Ok, I'll stay. Now where's my Simply Lemonade and coffee ice cream?" She opened it and searched up and down the fridge.

"I thought you didn't want it?" I said, mimicking her.

"Well, I changed my mind."

I laughed as Aaron gave us suspicious looks that asked if we were on drugs, belonged to a mental hospital, or just needed medication. I gave him a shameless look and shrugged, smiling. With eyebrows still knitted in worry, he gave a smile back. Something in his hand caught my attention and I looked down to see a pointy stick. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and felt around with my hand holding the ice pack for my weapon and found it gone. Seeing the surprise on my face, he smirked, winking at me and reached for my hand to hold, which I obliged to despite Kylie's protests at the fridge.


	9. CHAPTER 8: God Damn

**CHAPTER 8: God damn…**

The next day father came home and was told by Andie that I was sick. He checked my temperature which was at a threatening 107.2. So I was sent to the hospital naturally.

So, the good news: I don't have a bad virus. I just have some bacteria that my body doesn't like so my body temperature is rising. Because of this, I get to go home.

The bad news: The bacteria was caused by the strange bite or whatever it is (the doctors confirmed it's a bite mark but I keep telling them that nothing bit me at all that night) so I have to stay for a few hours so they can make up a prescription that will kill off the bad bacteria in my body without killing the good ones. Also they had to take my blood. I don't like it when they take my blood. I get squeamish and uncomfortable and I sometimes faint. I didn't this time, but I did last time; not pretty.

So, I am in a hospital room, watching bad T.V. while Andie is snoring in the chair next to me. Father couldn't stay because he had work, but mum reassured me that he'd come see me again with her so I could leave. I doubted that he would be able to because of all the work he had to do and I was just lucky to have him there on a Sunday, but maybe he will be able to come. Don't get your hopes up, though, a small voice reminded me.

I sighed and looked out the window that was to my left. I was sharing the room with another patient who seemed to be around 7. She didn't seem ill; just really happy. I felt a small sharp pang of sympathy slice through my chest as I thought of what she may have, and it really hurt me to see… She had beautiful, long blond curls that reached to maybe her waist with what seemed to be either blue or gray eyes and loud freckles. She was playing with Barbie dolls while humming a tune that I didn't know with SpongeBob blaring in the T.V. in front of her. Next to her was the window, that had a lovely view of another building and its' parking lot. Joy. I was sooo hoping to see a building, I thought sarcastically.

I looked away to view the T.V. in front of me again. It was some Spanish soap opera with a lot of dramatic music. I need to change the station; I can't understand a word they're saying.

I reached for the remote that was attached to my bed and pressed one of the up arrows with 'CH' on it. The channel immediately changed to the Oprah show.

No thank you.

I pressed it again to the news.

Boring.

_Press, _explosions and a man walking away looking 'cool'.

Too cheesy.

_Press,_ Dora the Explorer with all her gayness jumped into the screen with a monkey wearing red boots and a way too happy bag back. "Dómanos!" I heard the demon squeak.

NEED TO CHANGE NOW.

Terrified, I changed it again to a black and white movie. Ok, most of these are good, so, lets' see which one it is…

A formally bad dressed man wearing a black cape/coat, pants, vest, and shoes appeared wearing a star shaped broach and a white long sleeved blouse with a tie tucked underneath the vest. He had pale white skin with black eyes and hair. He was entering a master bedroom with a dresser and bed and whatever. But, there was a woman in the bed with a blond bob. Monroe? Wait, this movie has super bad quality, probably before Monroe was famous. Never mind, not her. But what's the dude in her bedroom for? Creep.

The male actor smiled and opened his mouth wide to reveal…fangs…? He looked like he was having some kind of an orgasm just looking at the woman. The camera changed to the girls' head and neck. Ah. This could only mean that this movie is the one and only: "_Dracula_," I murmured under my breath, sighing.

Yes, the infamous movie that was so poorly done, yet so good at the same time, it was loved… Well, by the people that the movie was made at the time and by English teachers for some odd reason.

I sighed as I turned off the T.V. Nope, nothing good at all. So, I am stuck here to do nothing as my brother sleeps and my parents work… Awesome. Just great. Of all the times Kylie has been here for me, why can't she be here now? Ugh.

I looked to my left again to see the girl making airplane noises as she lifted a toy bus in the air. I smiled as she held a Barbie in a tight grasp at her waist and crashed her into the bus, making now a crashing noise. I chuckled nervously, making more of a "Eh heh" sound than chuckle in concern of where this child's imagination comes from, and leaned back into the pillow, putting my hands behind my head.

I blinked slowly as I tried to count all of the dots in the ceiling.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… Did I count that one already? Damn, start over.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… 9… 10…? 11…?

Maybe counting the dots on the ceiling wasn't a good idea.

I sighed and turned to my side, facing away from the girl and my brother, and towards the door. The door was wide open for the world to see exactly what I am doing. Stupid hospital… Doesn't consider people's privacy… Nurses were passing by my door the most, not even looking in. Once in a while visitors would pass by and look in to meet my bored glare at nothing. When no one was passing by, I stared at the bland wall and door parallel to my room. They at least had their door closed; why wasn't mine?

Realizing I wasn't injured and I can walk, I got out of my bed and walked to the end of the room. I grabbed the edge of the door and pushed the door closed. Just as I did that, I heard a muffled gasp. I turned my head, and tried to cock an eyebrow as I saw the little girl looking at me wide-eyed with her mouth dropped to, I swear, the start of her neck and her hand covering the gap badly. It was quite a funny sight to see, honestly. And very cute.

"You c'ose z' door!" she exclaimed in her childish, surprisingly deepish yet girlishly high voice.

"Yes…" I said hesitantly.

"You caun't do 'at!" she replied, still exclaiming. She seemed to be British because of her accent.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Typical. "But I did that so that we would have privacy, you know, so other people won't be looking at us?" I said, emphasizing every word so she would understand.

"But wha' about Mista' Puck?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Um, who?"

She looked at me astonished. "You know…" she looked around as if she was looking for someone. After confirming no one else was here except my brother, her, and me, she whispered to me, "Da boogeyman." She looked around frightened.

Oh dear Lord, you must be kidding me, I thought to myself. She believes in the boogeyman? Please. Must be a bad kid or something. "Look," I said while walking to her side of the room. "There is no boogeyman, ok?"

She shook her head, causing blonde curls to fly around her head in which ever direction. "No, he weal, an' I've seen 'im bifor'. He scaywie!"

I sat on her bed, making sure not to sit on the now beheaded Barbie doll and wheel-less bus. "Sweetie, they don't exist. I-"

"He," she corrected, keeping her sparkling eyes on me. I paused, and then smiled at her. "He," I corrected myself, "doesn't exist. I have been around for a long time and never saw him once. You may think you saw him, but that was probably just a scary person, ok?"

She kept her lips in an 'o' shaped and tilted her head in curiosity. "But... But, I saw 'im in my woom walking from my bed to da window." My eyebrows twitched downward in curiosity, but I kept my ground. "No that must've been a dream or a family member-"

"But I saw 'im!" she yelled. "I did! I did! I did!" she looked around scared again, this time about to cry. Oh no. Not the lip, not the quivering lip. No, no, no-

"D-don't cry! Here I'll open the door ok? Please don't cry!" I ran to the door and opened it quickly. "See? Wide open!" I turned to her again and she didn't seem to lighten up. I sighed and walked to her. "Sweetie?"

"… I don't like thinking of Mista' Puck… He scaye me…" She looked up from her sheets, her blue eyes somehow still sparkling vibrantly. So they're blue, eh? "When he look ah me, hi' eyes weh gween." She whispered again, "He scaye me weal bad because when he loo' ah me, he gwoled like mah doggy did when i' wa' mad."

Obviously she wasn't making this up; little kids her age don't lie about events. I couldn't find a way to reassure her, so I smiled at her instead, hoping that would make her feel better. She smiled back, showing it did. She giggled, "You're weird." I mentally sweat dropped like the cartoons I used to watch did when something awkward like that happened; even this little kid knew I was weird just by talking to me. Great. What does that mean when adults talk to me?

"You know you don't usually tell people that," I sighed. She blinked, obviously forgetting about the topic before. "Tell people wha'?"

"That they're weird. It's not polite."

She stared at me curious, "But weird is good, wight?" I blinked surprised, and after a minute of pause I smiled brightly, "Yeah, I suppose so."

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"… So then, he told me he liked another girl! And, that he only wanted to hang out with me, _because he was with his rich private school friends!_ What a jackass right? Ugh! So, anyway, then, I told _him_, that, well, actually before that, he was like, 'Oh, my rich friends are dicks and took my phone and told me to tell you that' and then _I _said, 'Oh, well, they're not the only one's'. And then, I felt guilty so I was like, 'Sorry didn't mean it that way,' when I did - mean it I mean - but, anyway, I said, 'but what I meant was why didn't you tell me before,' you know? And he said, 'I don't know' and I was like, 'What do you mean you don't know?' and he was like, 'I didn't want to hurt your feelings' and then I told him to fuck off… What do you think Audrey? Was I being irrational?"

I blinked back into reality. Crap, what did she just say? With the look of hope in her eyes, she looked like she wants me to say yes, but then again, she could mean to say no, so… "I don't know."

She frowned. "You think I was…irrational…?" I thought about it, or looked like it anyway, then said the answer that was already in mind, "No, not at all now that I think about it." I nodded to add emphasis.

She grinned boldly. "Exactly! Victor is such an ass, you know? Telling me he likes another girl and not knowing why he didn't tell me…Ha! Irrational my ass…"

Oh, that's what it was about. I sighed. Her having conflicts with her 'crush' and him finally telling her he wasn't interested. That story. She's been ranting on and on about him for the past couple of days, repeating the story over and over. Secretly, I knew she deserved better, but I didn't want to crush her. Besides, this was quite unexpected, and I usually can predict stuff. "Well, we knew it was going to come anyway, sooner or later," I yawned.

Let's see, I thought to myself, it's March now, so it's been close to 2 months since the incident. Well, really since Kylie met Victor. But, was he truly a douche bag? Or did something go wrong?

She frowned and made a sour look. "Yeah but it didn't mean he had to lay it on me like that, I mean, really did he have to do that when I was in a good mood…? Ugh, I'm so sick of boys…"

I nodded. Most women are; I kind of am myself.

"So…" she said, leaving her mouth in an 'o' shape as she tapped her index finger on her chin and looked upwards, as if the next conversation would be written on the ceiling. Oh boy, she's changing the subject. She smirked. Only God knows what it's going to be. "How's _your_ date life, eh?" she turned to me and smiled wider.

I groaned softly at the new topic and rubbed the back of my head agitated. "Okay, I suppose…" She looked at me with curiosity, shifting herself in the seat she was sitting on to get a better view of me and be comfortable in Indian style. "You suppose? How come? What's wrong? What happened?" She gasped loudly and widen her eyes in bewilderment, "He's not _cheating _on you is he? Because if he is I swear I will bite his balls off and serve them to my-"

"No! No, it's not that at all!" I interrupted abruptly, astonished at the comment I had once made months ago. "It's just… I don't know…" I frowned and looked away grabbing my forearm unconsciously, "It's just… Aaron's been acting stranger and stranger since our first date… For example he can't look at me directly in my eyes without getting nervous and what about when he 'forgot' about Valentine's Day? And the other time he was a bit aroused more than usual over dinner, and I wasn't even eating anything sexually like a hot dog or something, just potatoes; he had to leave the table he was so horny- don't look disgusted, I've seen what you think of most almost naked men so don't you start saying anything. Yes, I'm speaking of McDreamy from 'Grey's Anatomy'.

"Anyway we're good otherwise, he's a good boyfriend and he doesn't get me little corny things or anything stupid. In fact, he doesn't get me anything unless I want him to, which I like much better than getting me random shit without me knowing. He really is a pretty good boyfriend now that I think about it." I sighed. "Does that answer your question?" I asked, eyeing her.

She looked like she was contemplating of whether she should intrude more or leave it alone. I hoped desperately she would let it be. I mean, not that I don't like talking about Aaron or whatever but I don't like talking much about myself. "Hmm…" I heard her murmur. "Have you guys kissed yet?"

Damn. "Ah, w-well…" I looked away. I heard her gasp, meaning she knows we haven't yet. "You guys haven't kissed yet? I mean, you guys get really touchy in the halls and stuff! What the hell?" I huffed sharply and looked at her from the corner of my eye. "Kylie, there is nothing wrong with that and you know it."

"But-"

"Besides…" I smirked, an idea coming to mind that would get her off my case. "Even though we haven't kissed yet… He's still amazing when it comes to arousing me… If you think we're touchy in the hallways, ha, well then, you definitely have not seen us _alone_. I can get near _orgasms_ from the way he touches me. And man even though I haven't actually seen him yet, I can tell he's big if you catch my drift. He's just so-"

"Audrey." I snapped back into reality and blinked. "Yeah?"

"T. M. I.," she said, emphasizing slowly each letter. "Waaaaay too much information, dude. Did NOT need to know!"

I stared innocently at her, trying not to smirk with success. "But you said you wanted to know what goes on between us, I thought you'd-"

"No," she interrupted again, hiding the light blush on her cheeks and face with her hands. "I wouldn't like to know about _that_. Your sex life is not interesting to me unless you're pregnant. THEN it's my business." I laughed and leaned back on my bed. "Whatever you say."

"What about sex life?" I lifted my head slightly see Andie in the bathroom with only boxers and a towel around his neck. His hair was damp, so I assumed he just got out of the shower. Still, I should ask as any good sister would: "Andie, why are you only half dressed?" He looked down to see his apparel then looked back at me and shrugged. "Why are you talking about sex?"

I groaned, "We are _not_ talking about sex, now go away and get dressed."

He raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Hmm, I think I shall stick around for bit…" He leaned against the doorframe with a smug look, and I glared at him.

"Go away," I hissed through gritted teeth.

He smirked. "Make me," he mocked.

I growled menacingly, hoping that would scare the pest away.

Lately he's been more annoying than usual. Then again, I've also been more annoyed about little things than usual. Not sure why, though. Actually, now that I think about it, I do know why. He never has liked Aaron much, although he fakes it well enough at school. He's probably just taking the big brother role and making sure that I don't get hurt or, I suppose in this case, pregnant. Besides, if I heard my brother talking about sex, I think I'd bother him too. That and I'm getting very near my time-of-the-month.

Remembering I was in a staring contest with Andie, I narrowed my eyes even more, knitting my eyebrows to look more menacing. My eyes started to sting from not blinking for so long, as did, from I could tell, Andie's. I decided I'd let him win this time and I blinked, rubbing my closed stinging eyes.

"Ha! I win!" I heard Andie exclaim. I sighed, "I let you win. My eyes were hurting and I don't want to stare over something so stupid…" I opened my eyes to see him rolling his at me, "Yeah, sure, whatever." I frowned at his behavior. "You're acting like a child. Why can't you just get dressed like a normal teenager?" I leaned my head against the palm of my hand as he pouted, crossing his arms across his chest. "But I don't wanna," he whined in a childish voice.

I sighed deeply, causing me to groan softly and stood up. At that precise moment he ran back into the bathroom and shut the door. "Now that wasn't so hard was it?" I mumbled to myself softly.

"Well… That was a typical twin brother-sister conversation of the Steinbach family," Kylie said sighing; I'm sure she's used to these types of insipid arguments by now. "Yeah," I chuckled, "I guess you could say we have no lives, eh?"

She laughed, causing me to smile with her. "Hmm… Hey, you want to go somewhere after school tomorrow? Like a movie or something?" She, still smiling slightly from laughing, gave me an uneasy look. "You sure you want to do that in the middle of a school week? We are working a lot more in our AP classes now more than before…"

I huffed, "Oh please, don't let that scare you off. Besides, our AP exams aren't for another month and a half, so let's enjoy before all hell breaks loose."

After arguing for another 5 to 10 minutes, she finally agreed to hang out tomorrow after school; however, we must bring Andie, C, Sandy, and Aaron. "May I ask why…?" I asked slowly. "Just bring them," she rolled her eyes. I continued staring at her odd, and when she didn't react to it I sighed. "I understand why you'd want to bring people other than us three–and us three being you, me, and Andie–and I also understand bringing Sandy and C with us, but bringing my boyfriend? You know Andie dislikes him, so why do you want to bring him?"

She breathed in slowly and sharply exhaled. "Don't cha trust me, Audrey? I mean, I don't usually keep secrets from you but this one is for your own good this time ok?" I raised my eyebrows. "Sooo you're not going to tell me…?" I asked slowly and suspiciously.

She looked at me for a few seconds with an indifferent look, and she finally smirked and looked away, trying to cover her smile. "Oh, I will, just not yet…" She looked at me again, "It's a surprise." I stared at her intently to scare her into telling me but, sheesh, she wouldn't budge. Usually she'd break by now but nope, she's keeping her cool… Damn, this must be one hell of a surprise.

I groaned loudly, "Ugh! Fine! Keep your stupid secret! Not like I care." I turned my back to her to add emphasis on my temper tantrum. Am I really having one? No, but I want to try and make her feel guilty by faking one. Maybe I should be an actress… I am pretty good at this… Hmmm… I decided I'd wait a little bit before I moved or make a sound to make sure she'd feel guilty. This is the hardest part of this: Waiting for the fish to get the bait. Sometimes the fish will nibble on it so some information is leaked in before they notice the trap, other times the fish completely falls for the trap and everything is told. And of course, there are the times when the fish doesn't fall for the bait at all. I'm hoping for scenario one or two. But, if nothing is said or done soon, my patience is going to falter and it'll turn to scenario three… Damn it why isn't she telling me already…?

I turned around to see Kylie was reading something intensely; her eyes were glued to an unopened book as her hands shook and her eyes squinted in frustration. I smirked. She's falling for it. Now to only step it up a notch…

"Hey, Kylie…" I cooed. She looked up abruptly to look at me. Like putty in my hands. "I heard this rumor about that kid that's in art… You know, the one with the glasses?" She looked at me exasperated. "Audrey, almost everyone has glasses. You have to be more specific." I rolled my eyes. "You know…the girl with brown hair and brown eyes?" She gave me an even more exasperated look that caused her to drop her upper body an inch and her countenance exhausted. "_Everyone_ has brown hair and brown eyes. Be. More. Specific." I crossed my arms.

"God, you know her though! C'mon, you must know who I'm talking about." Her left eyebrow twitched. "I swear to God, if you don't tell me right now…" I frowned and looked away, "Fine, I _won't_ tell you, sheesh! It was just that she might be pregnant."

I heard a thud and just as I turned to see what it was Kylie was literally in my face. Way too close to my face. Her hands were on my shoulders too, shaking me. "Who? Who's pregnant? Audrey, you have to tell me! Who? Tell me!" Her eyes were big and she looked liked she'd eat me or something if I didn't tell her. Just about have her… I smirked without wanting to. "I could tell you… However… I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

She looked at me surprised. "Huh? Why not?" she shrieked, looking a little hurt. But only a little. "Because…" I said slowly, that stupid smirk still on my face, "You won't tell me what's going on." I thought about asking what the surprise will be, but then realized in the pause I had created that I'd give the bait away. So, this will do.

She frowned and stared at me for a moment, analyzing me of what's going on. The smirk didn't go away, but I held my breath; not just because she was reaaaally close to my face, but so that she doesn't figure out what I'm doing.

"Yo, sorry to bother aga- oh, damn."

Kylie and I turned to my bathroom door and saw Andie staring dumbfounded at us. "I uh… I didn't know you two were that close…"

I kicked- yes, kicked – Kylie away from me and glared at my brother. "Andie, you know damn well she and I aren't lesbians, so get the hell out."

Andie frowned. "Aw… I was actually hoping you two were, actually… Did I tell you that's been my life-long dream? To have a sister that's a lesbian so I could watch them-"

"I DON'T want to know!" I yelled, covering my ears. "Just get out so I can get information!" Andie smirked, shrugging at my outburst, then walked out of the room leaving the door opened.

"Close the door, too dumbass," I yelled. I heard a deep groan as he closed the door slowly, but without a 'click'. "All the way," I said exasperated as if talking to a child. I heard a "You suck" as he closed the door completely with a 'click'.

"Ok," I said, getting back to what I was doing earlier, "so back to-"

"What do you mean by, 'so you could get information', hm?" Kylie asked suspicious.

Uh-oh.

"Uh, nothing… Why?" I asked, extending the last vowel so add emphasis on my 'cluelessness'. She looked over her shoulder and tossed her hair back. "Ohh, I don't know… Because you were trying to bribe me with a rumor right after I told you that I was having a surprise?"

Aw, shit.

I frowned. "You suck balls, did you know that?" She grinned. "No actually, 'cause I don't have myself a boyfriend thanks to Mr. Douche being, well, a douche."

I couldn't help but laugh at that comment. "Oh, totally. You sooo deserve someone better, dude."

* * *

**_A/N Update: Get ready for lots of changes if you've read this before. Because they're coming the next two chapters. ~_**


	10. CHAPTER 9: Everything Gone Weird

**CHAPTER 9: Everything Gone Weird**

I am officially scared of Kylie. Despite knowing her since Pre-K, this is the first time that I've ever been afraid of her. Now, the question is: Why? Well, when someone goes to school with a suit case – yes, a suit case – full of only God-knows-what and acts a little too cheerful after talking to her yesterday about the get-together and her surprise, that's when I get scared.

"Kylie… What the fu…" I can't even finish the end of my sentence, let alone a curse word, that's how scared I am. The night before Kylie called everyone that was mentioned, except my boyfriend, about what was going to happen today and I suppose the 'surprise' too because they all looked excited. Except for Aaron, who just looked as confused as I was.

See, I called Aaron and everyone else last night about us getting together and mentioned about the surprise Kylie was gonna have for me and apparently, as shown that Kylie had also called them, she told them of the surprise except for me and Aaron. Why not him? I have no idea. Why not me? Still no idea. But she sure is scaring the shit out of me with the taunting look, wide smile, and bag-o-whatever-it-is in her hand…

"Hi Audrey!" she chirped as she approached me. I stared at her dumbfounded as Sandy and AC approached us, too. They also had the same evil look of happiness… Ok maybe it isn't evil but it is to me.

Aaron cleared his throat. "If I may ask… And this is as politely as I can ask… What the hell is going on that you all have evil, conspiring looks on all your faces?" Well said; almost exactly what I was thinking but I would've added a few more curse words if I could talk. I nodded in agreement still gapping.

Kylie giggled, giving me the shivers. "Can't tell, it's a surprise."

I groaned loudly and look upward as if someone was there. "Please, please help me," I groaned loudly. Andie laughed, "Aw, c'mon sis!" He put me in a head-lock, catching me completely off guard. "Lighten up! You'll love it." I bit his arm hard but without causing him to bleed and he yelped as he put me out of it to nurture his arm.

I glared at him for performing such an action on myself, then stared in complete shock and horror, and somehow being able to speak again, I said, "It must be something truly horrible if Andie put me in a head lock and called me 'sis'…"

He calls me 'sis' sometimes, but only when something is going to happen to me that he likes and is participating in, usually embarrassing me or destroying something I've really liked (or ruining anything related to me). Plus, with the head lock, which he never ever does, there has got to be something horrible about to happen.

Andie grinned wider. "Nah, it's not, trust me."

"Yeah, that's the problem; I really don't right now," I laughed dryly, but more like breathed. I felt an arm slip around my waist and I felt myself be pulled into Aarons' arms. At that motion, Andies' grin vanished and he glared at him - I'm sure it was only him, even though it seemed he was looking at both of us considering how close we were standing – as Aaron spoke, "Look, if you guys are planning to do something to Audrey that she won't like you're going to have a serious problem with me." I smiled shyly, keeping it small and hidden from everyone's view behind my hair, and thought how sweet Aaron is.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad I promise," Kylie said, "but you have to come ok? I promise with no fingers crossed, see?" She put her suit case down and showed no fingers crossed but spread out. "All is good."

I was going to say, "Yeah, but not for me" but the bell had blanketed my voice and everyone but me and Aaron scattered to their classes with murmured "Byes". I sighed in frustration and I felt Aaron hold me closer to him, wrapping both of his arms around me. I again smiled the same shy, small one and lifted my head to look at Aaron above me. He was already leaning down with a sideways smirk as I smiled wider.

"You're so protective," I sighed. He kissed my forehead, "Only if it has to deal with you, Audrey." I held my breath as he kissed my forehead and I wondered when he would kiss lower than my forehead.

I hoped he didn't notice my sudden pause and giggled to cover it up. "Do you have to say my name? You're making it sound so much more dramatic than it really is." He looked into my eyes and I felt myself melt into him. "Because it is," he said seriously.

I looked into his violet eyes for several more seconds then gave him a small smile. "You're too serious." I felt one of his hands leave my waist and weave into one of my hands. "And you're too observant." I smiled wider as he grinned lopsided, and I felt like kissing him so bad right then…

"Come on, we have to go to class," Aaron whispered and he let go of my waist but not my hand. Trying to hide my disappointment, I nodded and walked with him to my first period. My class is before his, so we walk together until then. And when his class is before mine, I walk him to his class, and so on and so forth.

"What's wrong?"

I turned to Aaron who was looking at me worried. I guessed some of my disappointment shown through and I put up my best toothless smile. "Nothing, why?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "You seem a little distant, that's all. Is something wrong?"

Yes. We've been dating for a month and you still won't kiss me? Can't you see that I want to so, so badly? What's wrong with me that you won't even peck? You were willing on our first date when we didn't know each other.

"Um, no not really," I partly lied, refusing to let my thoughts be heard about that and changing the problem to be of another case without lying. "If anything that surprise thing Kylie is setting up for me is worrying me a little."

We approached my classroom and put my bag that I grasped firmly onto my shoulder so that it looked more of a purse than of a school bag. I felt Aaron tug on my hand and suddenly my back was on the wall and Aaron was hovering above me, one hand still on my hand and the other above me on the wall. I couldn't breathe as he stared down at me with antagonizing but beautiful eyes that had a sort of fire in them filled with passion, fury, and a sort of deep understanding beyond control.

And yet, there was something else in his eyes, too… Pity, sadness… Guilt. It almost made me want to cry not because he was nearly glaring at me with this passion but because of how much I could see into his eyes and feel his emotions, and I felt bad.

Probably realizing that he was showing too much of himself, (I told him about my weird empathy link with people and was actually extremely fascinated by it, testing it with random moods he made himself feel and actually made us bond even more than before) he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine.

I froze, realizing how close he was to me, how close his lips were to mine, how close we are to…

Maybe…

If I show him that I want to…

Maybe he will…

I shifted my gaze downwards, and slowly leaned in with lips slightly pursed. He didn't react at first, leaning slightly back away from me, but he seemed to understand what was happening and began to lean into me as well. As my heart raced rapidly, all my thoughts dispersed and the only thing that came to mind was him and how his body was so close to mine and how minty his breath smelled and how the strands of his hair pressed to my forehead were soft.

As we became barely a breath away from each other, I felt happiness and anxiety pour into me… And anger. I leaned in to close the small space between us and claim what I've been wanting for so long- and I felt air.

I opened my eyes to see that Aaron was being bumped, or rather shoved, harshly by someone passing by. I could tell that he was surprised by this by the mix of his clueless expression and surprise written on his face, but I could also feel that he was disappointed, upset, and… Relieved? No, that can't be…

Aaron caught his footing and managed not to fall on his face, and as he turned to see who 'bumped' into him, all that could be seen was that he was definitely out of uniform, wearing nearly all black except for his khaki pants, and his face was hidden from view by his hoodie. And through the crowd of students, he disappeared.

"What the hell is that guy's problem?" I asked out loud. Aaron turned to me looking surprised. He had been staring at that person intently for the whole time that he- er, they, it, whatever gender- had bumped into him and jumped when I spoke. Did he forget I was here?

"Uh… Um, I don't know…"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Are you alright? You look… Confused…"

He looked at me blankly for a moment, then shook his head and looked away. "I'm alright… I'm just… It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it."

I tilted my head to have a better look of him. "Are you sure? Because, well, you know, you can tell me anything… I'm always here for-"

He turned his head to me sharply, surprising and scaring me enough for me to jump slightly back and causing me to stop what I was saying. "I said I'm fine, all right? Stop asking," he snapped, his eyes glowing in anger and annoyance as they glared at me.

I widened my eyes, not only because he actually snarled at me but because I had actually annoyed him; I felt it. I annoyed him, and he was mad at me too? What did I do wrong?

Feeling hurt, I looked away from him and fought to regain my indifference to cover up the shock I had previously encountered. "Ok," was all I said.

I had expected, rather hoped, that I would feel guilt from him too, but after about half a minute I looked back to him and he wasn't even standing in front of me anymore. Looking around, I saw that the hallway was almost empty.

And there was Aaron, about fifteen feet away, walking away to his classroom with his hands in his pockets, probably not even realizing that he had just made it worse. My eyes stung with tears that refused to be shed, and I used the collar of my shirt to dry my eyes.

When the final bell rang, I made sure with the reflection of my cell phone that none of the make-up I wore smudged and that I didn't look like I'd been tearing up, and I slipped into the classroom hoping my teacher didn't notice.

Surprisingly, he didn't, as he was focused onto the computer screen probably doing attendance. I slyly moved to my desk that was (thank God) the opposite direction of the computer screen, and sat down. "Ms. Steinbach, tardy," I heard him grumble. I scrunched up my nose in disappointment. How could he have seen me? Jesus. Whatever, doesn't matter.

I put my stuff on the floor next to my chair and looked towards where Kylie usually sits. She was concentrating on the reading we had to do last night, allowing me to guess she didn't read.

Somewhere in me was hoping that she was looking at me or was going to look up at me so that she could tell that something was wrong, that something wasn't right, but after realizing that she wasn't going to my heart sunk more and I turned to the front of the room, solemn.

I didn't really want people to notice that I was upset, but at the same time I did want people to notice and see that I wasn't myself. I wanted to be held by someone and be told it'd be ok, these things happen sometimes, even though this wasn't really something, was it? I'm not the type of person who likes personal attention; and yet, I wanted something to happen so that I didn't seem like an attention whore but still be comforted. But mostly, I wanted to pretend that Aaron never snapped at me, which he has never done, and that we didn't almost kissed and that I wasn't having feelings for him and that I didn't feel so guilty about something that I didn't know I did.

Or do I know what pissed him off? Was it my asking?

I put the palm of my hand onto my forehead and stared absentmindedly to my desk and book in front of me, opened to some random page I didn't really pay attention to.

Maybe he wasn't mad at me. Maybe he was mad at the asshole who bumped into him and released his frustration on me. It would explain why he was annoyed; I was a little ticked he had done that too. But then again… He had felt relieved. _Relieved_. Why would he feel that?

My thoughts continued running about how it would've gone if I hadn't tried to push our relationship a little further and how I could fix that problem now instead of Mr. Garcia's lecture. When the bell rang and I left the classroom, prepared on how I was going to fix the problem and apologize for not trusting that he was ok (even though he does that to me all the time and whenever I had asked he never once was annoyed), I waited for Aaron at his classroom.

But he never left the room. And, as I found out from one of his friends, Charles was his name, that felt bad for me standing there waiting for him, he didn't leave the room because he wasn't there; he had gone home early. I checked my phone for any texts and saw I had none. Why didn't he tell me that he had left?

Feeling my stomach churn, I thanked Charles and walked to my next class, drenching myself with self-pity and guilt. But, I refused to let it show. I no longer wanted people to worry about me, see if I was all right. I was going to act normal, or somewhat normal, and pretend that this never happened, even though it never left my mind for the rest of the day. For if people knew, who knew what people would think of me, especially Aaron.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I was successful in avoiding everyone all day at school but it was impossible to avoid my brother on the car ride home. Luckily, in my sulky mood, I didn't have to drive because I had this morning. I was grateful it had been silent between the two of us with only the music from the radio on low (I don't know what song is playing but it has some electric guitar to it). I stared out the window as I had been the entire car ride, wondering what I could have done differently and no longer on how I'd apologize to him (I realized that there was no reason that I should apologize for something I didn't do; really he should apologize to me for reacting like that towards me). Each car passed by with a whirl due to Andie's speed and unless I stared at the trees and buildings they did too. Except the clouds. They kept still and glided graciously but slowly across the sky all at the same time.

I heard a grumble and I turned to Andie, surprised from the sound made slicing through the silence despite the radio. "What?" Andie looked distressed, trying to look away from me but at the same time look at the road. "A one month anniversary fling… That's what the surprise is," he mumbled louder, looking embarrassed.

An anniversary fling… That explains why no one told me or Aaron, but…

"Why're you telling me this now? You usually keep those kinds of secrets," I said softly.

He looked at me with his eyes and smiled softly, showing his pity for me, "Because I felt bad that it had been bugging you all day. You can tell that something's been eating you up all day, seeing you ignored everyone. So, I felt that I should tell you what Kylie's planning for you. Now, how she's going to do it I don't know. But if you want-"

"It's not that that's been bothering me but thanks," I murmured quietly as Andie rambled on, obviously not hearing me. I didn't want to say it again, not wanting him to know the truth, but at the same time I did want him to know, the selfish side… I decided to pretend and look relieved as he continued talking to me of what she might be planning.

"So, in her suit case there are decorations and stuff of what she's going to put up at the gazebo but I have no idea of what she's is going to put up… Probably hearts and stuff…" I nodded, "It sounds like her."

"Mhmm," he rested his elbow on the window left of him and leaned his head against his palm. "You know, she is kinda cute…"

I furrowed my eyebrows, and tilted my head towards the dashboard to hear him better because I couldn't have heard that right. "Who?" I asked slowly. "You know," I heard him say hesitantly. "Kylie." I turned my entire upper part of my body towards Andie then in disbelief. "You like her?" He fidgeted in his seat but kept his eyes on the road. "W-well, y-you see, I've just- I kinda- I've always- ugh, shit…"

I continued staring at him in disbelief. "You do like her. You've liked her for a while now, haven't you?"

He looked away into his window. "Well, yeah… It's just that… I feel like she understands me and I've known her for a while so-"

Our car started to shift towards the left lane as a car was coming towards us and I nearly jumped to grab the steering wheel and pull the car back to the right lane with the opposite car honking their horn the whole way while they were passing us. Andie, surprised by my quick action, gave me a sheepish smile. "It's ok, you were distracted," I said without having to hear what he was going to say; I know my brother too well for him to speak.

Letting him regain his position on the driving wheel, I sat back to my own seat and crossed my ankles appropriately. "As you were saying?" I asked politely.

I saw him pause and fluster. "Er, I- let's talk about it later, o-ok?" he asked hesitantly.

I tried raising an eyebrow, which I failed to do because I don't have that kind of talent, and furrowed my brow instead. Is he really shy about talking about who he likes? He's usually very straightforward about the girls he likes; what's so different about Kylie? Oh, well, I'll find out later when he wants to talk.

"Alright then," I shrugged and I returned to my window.

Five minutes later we arrived to our house and went inside to prepare for whatever Kylie was planning. One thing I hadn't failed to notice, however, was that there was an extra car in the drive way that wasn't my mum's or father's. Apparently, Andie was too oblivious to not see the car because when I asked him whose car was in the driveway, he immediately laughed at me and said ours. I tried hard not to face palm myself. "No, you idiot, the _other_ car in the driveway. Doofus."

He looked towards the direction of the other car and shrugged. "Beats me. You know anyone with a black Lexus?" I shook my head. "Not that I know of, anyway. I know people with Lexus's but not this particular model."

The car looked to be up-to-date with an extremely shiny black coating and bright lights (that I hate by the way). It looked like a new model, honestly; one that I hadn't seen before but really, really liked. The car itself was definitely a sports car because of its lean figure and fast looks, not to mention the mean look it has in its headlights. I mean, this car is really nice, but I could see the dollar signs already jumping out of the car.

"You like my car, I see?" I jumped in scared surprise and turned quickly to where the house door was. Being hypnotized to the car, I guess I didn't notice the owner. "O-oh, it's yours?" I asked politely but still sounding embarrassed.

The man had to be at least in his late 30's and moved to the States some time ago because of his slight accent. He was wearing a black leather jacket unzipped, showing his red t-shirt underneath with jean pants and sandals. Definitely not what I expected from an owner of this car… Not to mention his dark brown hair and eyes.

The man chuckled, "Yeah, I just got it recently. It's a Lexus LFA 2012; one of its' kind. There isn't another car like it except for a handful that are of this model…" He looked at his car in such awe and pride, one would've thought the car was his child.

"Anyway," he said, and Andie and I looked at him again. "I suppose you're wondering why I am here, right?" I hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Well, I just need to talk to your parents about something really quick… Are they here?"

Andie shook his head, "No, they usually don't get here until around five-ish… You could come back later… Or would you rather stay with us in the meantime? I mean, we have to go soon at around four thirty but-"

"That would be great! Thank you very much," the man interrupted, and something in me started to nag at me but I shoved it out of my mind. I smiled politely as Andie frowned, he realizing he had been cut off, and I walked to the door to unlock it.

I opened the screen door so that I could unlock the main door and dug into my bag/purse to grab my keys. As I fumbled with the keys, I felt something brush against my arm. Keeping my body towards my house key, I looked up with my eyes to see what had touched me and saw my guests' arms crossed in front of his chest, waiting for me to open the door.

I'm not going to lie; he was pretty good looking for a 30-ish year old. If he were to shave off his stubble around his chin and cheeks he could really have a lot of women after him. Keeping that thought in mind I returned my gaze to the task in hand and unlocked the main door, keeping both doors open to let the guest in first. He smirked at me, nodding as a kind of 'Thank you' I suppose, and walked inside.

Andie was immediately next to me as soon as he walked in and was out of earshot. "There's something about him I really don't like, Audrey, but I can't put my finger on it…" he whispered hastily into my ear. I turned my head towards him while keeping my eyes on the guest, using the same hushed tone Andie used, "I don't think he'd do anything to hurt us, don't worry about it. Just be nice." Honestly, I had that weird feeling too but I decided I would ignore it until something suspicious happened.

I walked in after our guest turned around to see if we were behind him and Andie hesitantly followed after. Andie, being the last one in, slowly but cautiously closed the door behind him and offered our guest a drink. It was then I realized I didn't know our guests' name.

"Oh, no thank you I'm good. Maybe later though," he said smiling at him. I decided to take this moment to ask our guests' name. "Um, excuse me but I don't think you have told us your name yet, or why you even want to talk to our parents." I realized that we didn't know that either.

He chuckled, "Of course, I'm sorry for being so rude. I'm Ambrose Lamia, and I'm here to try to speak to them about, well, their children's future really."

Well that's a unique name. I guess that's where his accent is from, where ever his name is from. Wait a minute…

"You're here to talk about us…?" I asked slowly. He nodded, smirking at me with twinkling eyes. "That is correct. I would normally just talk to you two but I need your parents' consent first, so I can't tell you exactly what I am here to talk about…" He stopped for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows as if in thought. "Do you think I could talk to one of your parents by phone to see if they'd let me talk to you?"

I looked at Andie to see if we could and he shrugged, catching my gaze; I couldn't see anything wrong with that either. "Umm, I guess so," I said slowly looking back at Ambrose. "I don't see why not. Here I'll give you my mother's number, since she'd be more likely to get in contact with."

I moved towards the house phone so that he could use it and he stopped me short:

"Why don't you just tell me and I'll use my cell phone? I'd feel awful if your parents had to pay for one phone call that I made." I frowned and narrowed my eyes and darted them towards Andie. "Of course! That's fine. Here, I'll tell you her number."

As Ambrose pulled out his phone to dial the number, Andie told him our mother's work and cell phone number in case he couldn't contact one and needed the other. "Thanks, I'll be back in one moment. Is there somewhere I can talk to her privately?" Andie nodded and pointed towards the kitchen, "There should be a good place to talk to her. We'll wait here."

Ambrose nodded and started to walk towards there, then paused and looked behind him and towards us. "Just making sure I'm talking to the right people, you two are the twin siblings Andrew and Audrey Steinbach, right?"

I stiffened.

"Yeah, that's right," Andie answered.

Our guest smiled and continued walking to the kitchen. As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned to Andie hastily.

"What are you doing?" I whispered harshly. Andie blinked at me in surprise. "What? If he's here to talk to us about-"

"Keep your voice down," I hissed. "I don't want him to hear us."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, you're over reacting," then lowering his voice, "If he's here to talk to us about our future, we might as well be polite to him. Who knows what he could be here for. You even said yourself to be polite, so I don't see anything wrong there."

I growled at him, thinking if we did anything or if anything was happening soon that might be the cause of him being here.

Then I felt the color in my face drain at a particular thought. "Do you… Do you think he might be here about you hacking into…?"

I didn't have to finish my sentence for him to know what I was talking about. He widened his eyes at the thought and his face paled by three shades at least. "I… I don't know… You think he might be from the government…?"

I swallowed, shaking my head slowly. "I don't know," I breathed. I looked down and furrowed my eyebrows. "However… There's one way to find out…"

I looked into the kitchen of where our guest was. Andie looked there, too. "Audrey, you always feel bad whenever you eavesdrop." I looked at him again, "If it means saving you from jail, I'm all up for it. Besides, I'm extremely suspicious of him… How'd he know we're twins? No one ever knows that unless they look into our profiles and see that. And our parents never tell people we're twins, they only say that they have a daughter and a son."

He nodded, seeming to now just realize that too. "Yeah… Ok, I'll be right behind you."

I nodded sharply, then walked slowly towards the door with Andie behind me. I leaned my ear against the wall, standing next to the door frame.

"…ask a few questions to your children about that, it won't take too long I promise… Mmhm… Yes, of course… All right, well, thank you for understanding. Expect a call from me after their answers. Bye-bye."

I gritted my teeth. Damn it, she agreed.

I expected a small 'smack' from his cell since it was a flip phone but I didn't. Instead I heard silence for a moment. My heart started to thump quickly in my chest, afraid that he found out we were eavesdropping-

"Christophe, je suis arrivé à la maison de la cible."

I raised my upper left part of my lip in confusion, the only talent that I actually had. I guess his accent is from France, seeing he's speaking the language. I looked at Andie for help, since he took the language for two years (being a requirement to pass high school) and he looked as confused as me.

"What's he saying?" I whispered under my breath. He looked at me slightly panicked for a moment before he closed his eyes calmly. "He said he arrived to a house… Shhh."

I closed my mouth and held my breath, looking at him for help. Ambrose said a few more things in French and Andie furrowed his eyebrows. "Something about mum…and us… I can't understand some of the words though…"

I nodded, even though he wouldn't see me since his eyes were still closed. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest and my lungs started to burn from not breathing.

He said something else that sounded like he was angry. What in the world is he talking about? And who? But more importantly, why?

"Just get him under control, lock her up for all I care. Just make sure she doesn't get here, got it? I have business I have to attend to now. Bon nuit." And I heard a 'smack'. Panicking, I shoved Andie back into the small room in front of the door and ran after him.

I looked at Andie bewildered, wondering who the hell he was keeping locked up. Whoever it was, I felt bad for her.

Before I could ask if he heard a name, Ambrose walked in looking cheerful instead of angry. "Well, I got to talk to your mother and she said it was alright. So, what I am going to do now is sit down with one of you one-on-one to ask a few questions, alright? So, let's do Andrew first. Is there somewhere that you'd be comfortable talking to me to but that's also private? Other than the kitchen, I mean."

Andie looked at me cautiously and uncomfortably, but I gave him a reassuring smile and nod, giving him a look that said that I'd be right here if anything were to happen. Nervously nodding, he looked at Ambrose again, who was waiting patiently but eagerly at the same time somehow. "Yes, I believe my bedroom will do… Follow me." He walked past Ambrose down the hall to where our bedrooms were. Ambrose followed suit, keeping himself a distance from Andie but still keeping his pace.

I cast Andie a worried glance as he opened the door to his bedroom and let our guest in, and when he entered and closed the door I sighed. Remembering we had to go somewhere at 4:30, I pulled out my phone to text Kylie that we might be late. When I was satisfied with the message, I pressed the send message. After about 5 seconds, the 'Message Cannot Be Sent/Retry?' popped up, telling me there was no signal. Sighing again, I opened the door to get more signal. And it still wouldn't send. Getting pissed, I repeatedly pressed 'Yes' to send the message. And it still wouldn't send.

"God damn phone," I mumbled under my breath. "Send…" But there was still no service. I hate it when this happens… Groaning I gave up and stuffed my phone in my pocket. That's when I noticed Ambrose's nice car again. God it's so nice… It must be fast too… The car looked so sleek and elegant, while looking bad-ass at the same time…

I had a sudden curiosity to see the car, including the inside. Biting my lower lip nervously, I tried to fight back the want but with no avail. I looked behind me to make sure Ambrose wasn't randomly walking through the hallway. Seeing no one, I looked at the car again. One look wouldn't hurt anyone…

Cautiously, I walked towards the car while looking around to make sure no one would snoop on me. When I was right next to it, I leaned down to get a better look of the inside through the tinted windows and gasped. The seats looked like they were of red and black leather and it was _sick_. I usually don't use those terms to describe something cool, but I will with this car. It had two doors instead of four and from what I could see, and it can go up to 240 miles an hour.

S-i-c-k.

When I quenched my curiosity, I walked away and looked disappointedly at my car. Compared to this, it looked like trash. Sighing, I walked back inside and closed the front door behind me.

I felt a vibration in my pocket and growled angrily; why can people send me texts but not me send them? Ugh, I sooo hate this. I dug out my phone and saw it was from Aaron, surprising me. He usually doesn't text. Opening the message, I read: "Where are you"

I rolled my eyes; he should know where I am, I don't change my schedule much. "Home, where else would I be?"

A minute later he sent another one: "You need to go to Kylies. Now"

I furrowed my eyebrows at the message. "I dont need to go until 4 30, besides we have a guest here questioning us."

A few seconds after I sent the message, I got a reply. "You need to get out of the house with Andrew"

This one caused me to lean back questionably; despite how suspicious Ambrose made me feel I didn't think he'd do something to hurt me or Andie. Just as I thought that, I received another text: "What does he want and why is he there"

I replied, "Why? He talked to my mum via phone and wants to ask about our future or something like that."

After I sent that, I sent another one to let him know how I felt about him. "I mean, he makes me suspicious but theres no reason to panic as far as I can see."

I waited a few minutes before I got another reply: "Whats his name"

"Ambrose something… Hes French as far as I can tell."

"Whats he doing now"

"He has Andie in his room now for questioning… Its been like 7min."

"Did he mention what exactly he was going to ask about"

"Not really, just something about our future or something like that… Whyre you asking so many questions and where were you today? Your friend told me you left early."

"Im just worried about you, Ill be right over in a few do not go anywhere including near that man until I get there"

I rolled my eyes. "What happened to going to Kylies? And you still havent answered my question."

"Stay there" was the only reply I got back. I humphed and stuffed the phone in my pocket knowing he wasn't going to tell me anytime soon. Typical. Of course he wouldn't answer my question. Not after how he was treating me today. Shifting my weight to my other foot, I looked down the hall curious of what they must be talking about. But, if this has Aaron all wound up…

I shrugged it off and continued waiting for Andie and Ambrose to come out and Aaron to arrive. I was happy that he was coming over, just upset that he didn't apologize and wouldn't tell me why he left early or even why he was such a jerk this morning. I mean, I understand if you're not ready, you're not ready but there's no need to glare or snap at me… So what the hell was his problem?

I sighed as I solemnly thought for the thousandth time what I could have done differently, being angry at myself for letting it happen, also being angry at the guy who ruined that moment and Aaron for being such a jerk towards me and causing me to feel like this…

I heard a loud thump, causing me to jump. What the hell was that? Seeing that it wasn't anywhere in the house, or at least around me, I wondered what on earth caused that. I listened intently for another few minutes, but didn't hear anything else. Kind of disappointed nothing happened, while also questioning my sanity, I shrugged and looked down the hall again. As soon as I did so there was a knock on the door.

I glared at the door as I straightened myself out to open it. He's going to get it this time, I thought to myself. I unlocked the main door and opened it, and just as I was about to yell at the person standing there, I realized the person wasn't Aaron.

The woman standing there was quite tall, I would say at least 5' 9" or a little more and had short white blonde hair in pig tails. She had sparkling light blue eyes and pouty cheeks, making her seem adorable yet beautiful at the same time. She looked like she just got back from the 80's time travel trip because she was wearing black leggings with a super baggy, shredded white t-shirt that had splattered paint all over it and was hanging off her left shoulder, causing her black bra strap to show, not to mention her retro sneaker shoes that yelled '80's!'.

"Um, can I help you…?" I asked politely. She had to be in her late 20's, and yet here she was blowing a bubble and popping her gum right in my face with one hand on her hip and the other holding a tan purse that looked like it was made by and for the Native Americans.

"Yah, I need tah see some kid named Audrey he-yah?" she asked in a very snobby yet bored voice, making 'here' sound like she was saying 'he-yah'. What a joy. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and said, "That would be me."

She smiled snobbishly. "Ohhh, good good good… Yah, I need to talk to ya 'bout somethin', m'kay? Mind if I come in?" I realized she had a New York-en accent, which is why it sounded so snobbish. I did actually mind, and I wasn't afraid to let her know it.

"Actually, I do mind. My parents aren't here and I'd rather not have another complete stranger enter my home. But if you like you could question me here-"

"Thanks doll, you're so kind." I blinked, realizing she wasn't in front of me anymore and turned to see her pass right by me into the room. She stood in the middle of the room, looking around. "Wooow, you have a nice place he-yah."

Looking in front of me again, I wondered how I could have let her slip in like that and why I would leave the screen door open, and also how rude this woman was. After considering to call the cops on her, I shook my head and closed the door, seeing as it'd be best not to.

"A-kay, hun, I'm gonna go on 'n ask my questions, a-kay? A-kay. So," she said turning around. I realized she wasn't the type of person to take no as an answer. "You datin' anyone, hun?"

If I could raise one eyebrow, I would right now. "Um, I might be…" I said slowly, dragging the 'e'. "But that's not really-"

She smiled happily, showing her teeth. "Aww, how cuuute! How long you two been together?"

Again, if I could I would. Slightly annoyed, I replied, "That's not really any of your business…"

She gave me a longing look, "Now that's cute, wish my boyfriends would last that long. Anyways, next question," she said as I gawked at her last comment and the fact that she wasn't paying attention to what I was saying, "does he look famili-yah to ya?"

She pulled out something from her Native American purse and handed it to me. Seeing it was a picture, I held it close enough for me to see. The picture showed a person from the shoulders up with reddish brown short hair with bangs that covered most of their face and bright green eyes. The person, appearing to be a man, also had a very serious look that looked like he was hiding something or trying to get away from something.

I looked at the picture questioningly, trying to see if I knew the person and also why she'd want to see if I knew them. After about 30 seconds I shook my head. "Not anyone I can recognize, sorry," I said as I passed the picture back to her. She sighed as she retrieved the picture.

"That's a shame… Oh well. So, anyone else here?"

Another suspicious question. "Yes… My brother," I answered questioningly, debating whether or not I should mention that Ambrose was also here again.

She brightened up like an energy efficient light bulb. "Is he cute?" she winked.

I groaned, lifting my hand to rest my head on the tips of my fingers. "Are these questions really important and necessary for you to barge into my house after I said no, ask me about my date life, and to see if my brother is cute and maybe single?"

"Is he?" she asked, still bright.

I groaned again and closed my eyes while practically yelling, "Why are you asking me these questions?"

I opened my eyes to the feeling of someone stroking my cheek. "They're important, hun," said the stranger, still softly stroking my cheek with the tips of her fingers.

I looked at her in shock, thinking what the hell this woman's problem was. She moved her fingers slowly up and down my cheek, causing me to look from her hand to her face constantly in worry of what this woman's sexuality was. I mean, I don't mind if she's bi or a lesbian but I don't want her making a move on me when I'm straight and have a boyfriend. She moved her fingers down again, past my cheek to my jaw line, then my neck, and she began stroking her fingers there until she decided to go lower to my collar bone-

"OKAY! You can stop now," I chuckled nervously, taking a step back from her. "I think it's time for you to leave my house." But she took a step forward. "I must say… You have quite a strong pulse for someone your age… You also smell so tempting…"

I widened my eyes in fear. Was she going to molest me? Or rather, is it possible for her to rape me? Still staring at her in horror, unable to think functionally and properly, she moved my hair away from my shoulder and frowned. "Aww, someone already bit you… Well that's a shame. But…"

She leaned towards me and I stepped back to avoid her. "At least I can still taste you… Don't worry, hun," she reassured me, her eyes turning from light to dark blue. "You won't remember a thing after I'm done… You're just so hard to resist…"

I backed into the wall behind me and began to panic, realizing there's no more space for me to escape from her. She put her arms on either side of me and leaned towards me.

I wanted a kiss today by someone but not by a woman that I didn't know or that I was afraid of raping me, somehow someway. I wanted to move so badly but I couldn't; I felt glued to the floor and stiff all over in fear and panic. She was so close to me I could smell her breath, which was of fruit flavored bubble gum. Her nose was softly brushing against mine, and I held my breath in terror and hope that she wouldn't do the worse on me. If this was a guy, I'd know what to do: Knee him in the crotch till he's bent over and run for help. But a woman…? Could I do the same thing?

She moved her face away from mine, causing relief to flow over me. I felt her move to my neck, I suppose to leave a hickie or something but I'd rather have that than be forced to kiss or worse have sex. "Hmm… Your heart rate is accelerating pretty fast… You've never done it with a woman have you?"

My eyes widened again in fear and all the air in my lungs disappeared, causing my heart to accelerate. She chuckled, "I take that as a yes… Ugh, you're so tempting… Especially when your pulse is this fast… I wonder… I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I…" I felt her lips against my skin. "…took a bite…"

I mind. It was then I went to my senses and shoved her off me. Surprised by my action, she stumbled back, allowing me to run for the my brothers door. Even though his door wasn't that far away from the front door, I felt that it was taking forever for me to reach it. I felt someone grab me from behind and right when I was about to shout she clasped one hand over my mouth. "There's no need to fuss," she whispered harshly, and I felt her breathing down my neck.

I might not be able to knee her in the groin, I thought quickly, but there are other ways to get her off. I elbowed her harshly in the ribs, causing her to gasp in both surprise and pain. She finally let go of me when I elbowed her a second time in the same place and I ran for Andie's door again.

Right when I was at his door the woman blocked my path, her body positioned in the door way. She grinned at me in an a way that sent fear up and down my spine. And I thought Kylie's evil look was scary. Stopping in my tracks, not sure what to do, I darted in the opposite direction towards the front door and somehow reached it without getting tackled again.

I nearly crashed into the door and fumbled with the lock due to my adrenaline rush of fear, hating myself for locking it earlier. By the time I was finally able to open the door, the woman was on me again and grabbed my arm.

"No!" I screamed without meaning to, and immediately thrashed in her hold and started hitting her hand to get her to let go. "Let me go!"

"But I haven't tasted you yet!" she nearly screamed. When that wasn't working I pulled against her, trying to make it out the door and using the door frame as leverage.

"I don't care! Let me go!" I gasped. Her eyes narrowed in frustration, but glimmered in amusement. She reminded me of a cat toying with a mouse before eating it.

I continued thrashing and trying to pull myself away from her. "Let- Me- GO!" I yelled with every pull. Finally, I'm not sure how, I pulled myself away from her and tripped over myself, falling backwards and scraping my hands and elbows in the process of catching myself. Even though they stung, I knew I couldn't sit for long, otherwise it would make it easier for her to get me.

As she started to move towards me I scrambled to get up and off of our gravel driveway, which was sliding underneath my feet and getting into my sandals, and ran to the other side of the road to where the wildlife preserve was. At the moment, it seems like the safest place to be. I heard her screaming for me to come back, that she made a mistake, and that motivated me to run faster. I heard her now angry yells that I wasn't safe in there for long, that I'd have to come back eventually, and her screams and yells began to fade away as I pumped my arms to run faster, running as far away as I could.


	11. CHAPTER 10: Everything Gone Differently

**CHAPTER 10: Everything Gone Differently**

I had gone into wildlife preserve, which was an all native Florida plant reserve, before it was a restricted area, so I knew my way around. The only problem was getting caught and having to explain myself why I was there.

After 5 minutes of running, hearing no footsteps, and hearing no voices was when I decided to rest. I slowed to a walk and then leaned against a tree to catch my breath. When I finally did I looked around; I didn't realize how far I had ran. I had to be well past the middle of the pinewood forest, which was where I normally didn't go unless playing hide-and-go-seek with Andie plus friends in middle school. When we hit 8th grade was when the forest became restricted.

I closed my eyes and slid down the tree onto the wild grass around it.

I felt like crying.

First Aaron acts like a dick, then a man pops out of nowhere to ask Andie and I questions, possibly being from the government to talk about Andie's hacking, then a random woman shows up, almost molesting then almost raping me, and now I'm alone without Andie or anyone to comfort me. I bent my knees, wrapped my arms around them and myself, pressing my legs to my chest, and rested my head on top with bleary eyes. I didn't usually sympathize myself, or even want attention, but today was different. Today was just awful, filled with venomous words and bad and odd events. I couldn't take it anymore.

I felt something wet drop onto my cheek, and I hastily wiped it away with my sleeve. No, I am not going to sit here and cry in self pity, I thought to myself. But my body wasn't reacting with my thoughts because before I knew it, more tears were falling and the inside of my elbow was constantly wiping them away. God damn it, I thought to myself as my face started to contort itself and my lower lip quivered, I wish this would be just another nightmare and end…

I sat there for a good few minutes, trying to fight back the sob that was about to erupt. After another moment, I gave up and gave into my sob, letting my tears run freely and any sounds that I was making. Despite the gross gesture, it felt... _Good._ I felt something being lifted from my chest that hadn't been able to be released in a long, long time. The pressure from my classes, my relationship, Aaron, my nightmares, my parents… It all was being released through the form of my sob.

After I don't know how long, I finally was able to calm down into a small hiccup. Well, at least this day couldn't get any worse, I thought bitterly.

A thought occurred, and I jerked up in sudden surprise, realizing something.

My nightmare…

Andie…

He was with Ambrose…

What if he was the person killing Andie in my dream and is in the same league as the woman…?

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no…

I stood up quickly, causing the still running tears to plop on my cheeks even more, and started running back to the house faster than how I was earlier.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no…

Twigs were hitting me while I ran in full speed, causing them to hurt my face and arms and legs. I knew that I now probably had a ton of small cuts all over but I didn't care, I had to save Andie. He was who mattered right now, no one else but him.

Finally, I saw sunlight ahead of me and I forced my legs to run faster, feeling as though my chest was to explode and my legs were going to fall off at any second. But as I approached the sunlight, I could feel myself be light, as if I was a '3 Musketeer' bar in those commercials and could fly. Finally the wall of light hit me and I could see the road.

But the light wasn't the only thing that hit me.

And although I could see the road, the car didn't. So, naturally, I got hit by a car. Luckily, it wasn't going as fast (seeing it's a residential area and the speed limit is 15) and didn't hurt me severely. However, being wound up from running so far, as soon as I was hit not only did it hurt like hell but I collapsed from exhaustion.

I hit the asphalt harshly, and my eyesight was blinded by black and dancing stars. I felt very light headed and I could hear my heart beating in my head, obviously not being a good sign. And because of all of that, I almost fainted. Or maybe I did faint. I'm not sure. What I do know, is that when I regained my vision, a face was near mine. It was hard to see the person's face with the sun right behind them, but I thought they were an angel.

"Oh dear Lord, if you're some kind of angel sent by God you better get the hell out now and send me back to Earth before I throw Satan at you," I mumbled, squinting to get a better view.

I heard the person laugh nervously and realized they weren't an angel. "If I was, I'd be one fucked up angel for hitting you…"

I realized the voice was a males' and that they were hovering over me and lifting my head. "You seem alright… Although you seem over heated… What were you doing anyway that you were in the forest? It is restricted."

I squinted even more, causing my eyebrows to furrow. "Who are you?" I managed to mumble, ignoring his question. I was able to see an outline of his figure by now, and he had a worried countenance with medium long hair that draped around his face. In fact, he seemed familiar…

"Aaron?" I asked hopeful. The person frowned. "Who's he?"

I wanted to cry again, but I didn't. I closed my eyes instead. "N-never mind… I just… Ow, my head…" I felt a sudden throb of pain on the left side of my skull, causing me to wince in pain and grit my teeth. Another wave came and I gasped in pain.

"Aw, shit, uh, h-hold on, I'll get you some water." And he dropped me on the asphalt just like that and ran off, causing the sun to blind me with light and my head to hit the asphalt. With those two combined and the throb of pain already developed, my whatever-it-was got worse. Now, I really wanted to cry, but because I was in pain, not because of self pity. I turned to my side to shade my eyes better from the sun and earned an even harsher wave hit not only the left side of my skull but the back of it as well. I gasped again in pain and groaned, wishing I never let Ambrose into the house in the first place and didn't answer the door to that woman.

And that's when I remembered why I was hit by a car. I cursed myself for not checking for cars and forced myself up, despite the pain I was feeling in my head. When I was able to stand up right and maintain my balance, I took a step and I immediately fell again to the asphalt due to my leg collapsing under me. I made a sound that sounded like someone yelling as I collided with the floor again. This time, I let myself cry without any restraint.

No tears came out, only a dry and pathetic sob was all I could choke out. I was in so much pain, my head, my legs from running, and the left side of my upper body except my arms and shoulders from being hit by the car, it was too much.

Trying to calm myself, I took in a deep breath and let it out choppy. As I tried to get up again I heard footsteps approach me and I turned my head away from them and towards the vehicle, knowing it would be the guy who ran me over. "Please, just go away… I forgive you for hitting me but obviously you don't know how to handle this kind of situation and I'd feel better if you were to let me be. Just pretend this never happened and leave-"

I felt someone softly grab hold of my chin and be forced to look away from the car and gasped, tears forming once more. "I would never dream of hurting you, not even if it was past my lifetime," Aaron whispered, keeping his countenance serious as he kept his eyes in mine.

I felt relief overwhelm me and unexpected tears ran down my cheeks. "Oh, Aaron!" I nearly shrieked in happiness, practically throwing myself on him as I gave him a pathetic hug. Even though I was happy to see him, I couldn't help but feel super cheesy for saying something so lame like that; it was as if I was in one of those bad acting sob movies where the girl flings herself onto the guy and accepts his proposal in marriage or something.

"I was so worried, I didn't know when you were going to come, and the woman almost raping me, and, just- Oh God…" My sobbing from earlier returned and I couldn't help but soak a portion of his shirt; he wrapped his arms around me, one around my waist the other at the back of my head despite my discomfort, and he whispered comforting words, stroking my hair softly. I couldn't understand what he was saying mostly, but some words I caught were, "It's alright", "I'm here now", "It's ok", and "I'll take care of it". I didn't really care what he was talking about, but the fact he was comforting me meant a lot to me.

After a couple minutes of crying, I calmed down and just rested my head on his shoulder, hiccuping the rest of my tears away. My head still ached as did my legs, but it didn't hurt as much as it had earlier.

"How come you didn't come earlier?" I asked softly. By now he was rubbing my back in an even motion up and down my spine. "Didn't have a car, I had to walk here," he mumbled. His breath brushing past my ear caused hair to stand on end at the back of my neck. "Hmm… So why didn't you have a car?"

"I had it taken away… I'd rather not get into it."

I closed my eyes, satisfied he answered a couple of my questions and was here now.

I sat there for a little bit, enjoying the moment, before asking the question that had been bugging me for some time now (next to the one questioning his behavior towards me earlier). "Why didn't you tell me you were going to leave early…? You could've at least left me a text or something…"

I felt him stiffen, and he stopped near the bottom of my back. I stopped breathing, panicking that I might have gotten him mad for asking and I wanted to take back my words so that he'd stay with me and I scolded myself for reacting like this. But he relaxed again, continuing to rub up my spine and I sighed in relief.

He tilted his head closer to the back of my neck and I felt him tangle his hand into my hair, softly scratching the nape of my neck. I melted even more, if possible, into his arms in pleasure.

"It wasn't my choice… My dad had came to town unexpectedly and picked me up from school without even telling my mom, so that caused a problem… I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you and got you worried." I closed my eyes and smiled to myself, "No, it's alright. You can't always control your parents' actions." I felt him sigh into my hair, causing again my hair to rise.

I was content. Despite him being a total ass towards me earlier and not apologizing for it (yet), I forgave him. I dug my face into the crook of his neck and breathed in. He smelled like sweat and some dusky cologne, probably Axe. Oddly enough, the mix smelled wonderful…

"Aww, how cuuute, I was wonderin' what was taking you so long. I guess this answered my question." I stiffened at the sound that broke my thoughts and my eyes flew open; panic ran through my veins as I shifted my head upwards towards her voice behind Aaron. Feeling my sudden stiffness, Aaron shifted himself so he could see what I who I was looking at.

Standing at the front of the house with the guy who hit me with his car was the woman who nearly raped me. She was grinning from ear to ear with her hands on her hips, standing with all her weight onto one foot. Seeing her must have troubled Aaron because he held me tighter to his chest.

"Go away, Sabetha. You're not supposed to be here and you know it," he growled. I looked up at Aaron with questioning eyes; he knew her?

Sabetha's grin turned into a frown. "Aw, shoot Aaron dear, I didn't realize that was you. No need to say my full name though, I only wanted to help her out a little-"

"By molesting her?" he growled again, a little louder.

She stopped at mid sentence of what she was going to say and closed her mouth, defeated. She put her hands behind her back and started kicking at nothing shameful. "I can't help myself if I'm hungry, Aaron dear… And she's just so… Yummy looking…" She looked at me again and licked her lips. "Not to mention her smell…"

I widen my eyes and tried moving myself backwards, but Aaron held me firmly and pulled me tighter to him. "You're not touching another hair on her, do you understand me? If I see you _anywhere_ near her so help me I will _burn_ you. Now get the fuck out of here before I call Carico."

She froze at that name and shivered, glaring at Aaron. "Oh heavens, not him… You do realize that you've made it a point for me to have her…? You better have a good eye on her or she's mine, Aaron dear. I'll go for now, but heed my warning…"

She grabbed the guy who has hit me, looking as scared as I was, by the arm and moved him in front of her, forcing him to expose his neck in the process. The freakiest part was when she opened her mouth wide and bit into his neck, causing him to widen his eyes more and yelp.

I had no idea what she was doing but it was just sickening seeing her do it and see the blood dripping from his neck and onto his shirt. I stared wide-eyed in horror as I watched the man reflect my countenance and slowly relax into a haze while he became paler and paler…

I trembled when I realized she was looking at me the whole time, her blue eyes dark and seeming to smile the whole time. I felt Aaron stiffen as she held her grip on him but make no other move. She released him from her grip and threw him onto the driveway, wiping her mouth in the process. But even though she wiped her mouth, there was still HIS blood on her mouth and chin…

I was close to fainting, and felt like I was going to puke.

"Take that as a warning, my dear," she said dreamily, still looking at me with lustful, smiling eyes. "Because he tasted like shit, and I like women much more." And with that she took off, running down the street in a flash.

For a moment, all was still. No one moved; the man, Aaron holding me firmly, and myself. All I could hear was the pounding of Aaron's heart and my own, both beating at an irregular rhythm.

I shifted my head so that I could see Aarons' face and saw a mixture of emotions. He was glaring at the motionless man thoughtfully, but there was also sympathy in his eyes as well as guilt as his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips tightened to a thin line. He also seemed to be gritting his teeth.

I felt guilty immediately, and wondered what I should do. I thought it'd be best to distract him, or at least pull him out of his thoughts. Putting on a worried face, which wasn't hard, without looking scared, which was hard, I whispered his name, "Aaron…"

His facial appearance changed completely then to a more surprised one, yet looking blank at the same time; it seemed that he had forgotten about me for a moment, but I'd yell at him later when he wasn't so traumatized. I felt so child-like, just staring up into his eyes, and yet it felt wonderful at the same time.

After he examined my countenance, his look softened and his eyes drooped a little from my eyes to what I thought my neck. I figured he was still worried and I thought of what could comfort him and how to let him know I was all right:

I leaned into him, put my hands on his chest, closed my eyes, and kissed him- On the cheek.

I was afraid that the mishap from earlier might have been because he wasn't ready to kiss or something, despite our near encounter on our first date that _he_ started.

When I moved back, I saw the cutest look he's ever given me: He was looking at me slightly wide-eyed and astonished with a blush playing across his cheeks and ears. Seeing his reaction made me smile and giggle, and I remembered something that he had said to me when we had started dating, "You look adorable when you blush."

This made him blush a deeper scarlet and I giggled even more. He kept that astonished look for a moment until finally it softened and turned to embarrassment, yet with compassionate eyes as he stared at me. I leaned against his shoulder and snuggled up closer to him, even though my legs were already curled on top of his lap. I knew this was not the place nor the situation to be like this, but I didn't know how else to react. I looked up to him, and I realized I was giving him a look of compassion too, and another feeling I couldn't describe. When I figured out what that feeling was, I felt ashamed of myself and looked away…

I was looking at him lovingly, as I would for my brother or mother. I felt ashamed that I was pretending to love him when I didn't…

Or did I?

As I tried to settle that, I felt Aaron lightly take my chin and turn my face towards him. He stared into my eyes for a moment, causing me to melt under his gaze. Then, without warning, he leaned into me, closed his eyes, and kissed me… For real this time, and not on the cheek.

At first surprised at his actions, I didn't respond to the kiss. I mean, this was not only unexpected (he is unpredictable) but also considering the circumstances and the place it seemed _really _out of place and very unromantic, but after a few seconds my eyes rolled back and I closed my eyes, responding to the kiss. As soon as I did I felt sparks fly and I felt weak from the electricity, slumping into him. His arms already around me wound tighter around me to keep me up and I wrapped my arms around his neck. As he deepened the kiss, I felt myself become lighter and, well, weightless. I couldn't think properly, only, 'Oh'. And when I did think properly, during a quick pause, I thought, 'Oh God he is such a good kisser'. Wondering how far he'd go, when he had begun pulling back I took a step further by biting his lower lip softly. Curious if he was looking at me, I opened my eyes to find his violet ones half open.

We sat there, panting and staring at each other for what seemed to be hours. But wonderful hours. Even though I knew they were only minutes.

I waited for him to respond to my small action, but he continued staring at me with a - could it be? - loving, compassionate gaze. I had begun thinking he wasn't going to and that I'd probably gone too far when he licked my nose. Again, surprised by his actions, I blinked confused. He kept looking at me, waiting for a reaction that he got quickly when I smiled widely and giggled, resting my forehead against his.

He smiled as well and leaned his head against mine, and again it felt so right in so many ways that I can't even explain. He shifted so that I could see him directly and he used the hand that was behind my head to place on my cheek. I moved one of my hands around his neck to put on top of his. I gave him a childish look when I rubbed my cheek against his palm and gave him a small smile, getting him to grin wider while looking at me in adoration. I closed my eyes and relaxed, sighing deeply but in satisfaction. I could feel his gaze still on me, and that made me smile wider into a toothy grin.

I felt Aaron pull my head towards him and I felt his lips on me again, making me smile against his lips. Since his hand was on my cheek, I shifted my hand resting on his hand down his arm and up onto his cheek, but feeling uncomfortable I moved it again slowly down his cheek, to his neck, and finally his chest. As I was making this move, he used the action I had used to bite my lower lip, however much harder and, well, more sexual than I had, sucking and biting on it. His hand on my waist slipped down to my hips and was soon to come to the belt line of my shorts. I furrowed my eyebrows at that thought, and wondered if I should react now or when he reaches there.

I heard a door open and my eyes flew open, as did his, and I pulled away from the French kiss to look horrifically at the front of my house. There, standing completely confused, and very amused, (no rhyme intended) was Ambrose, with my brother standing behind him, dumbfounded and looking like he was considering if he should kill Aaron now or later. "Well, this is unexpected," Ambrose chuckled.

I blushed madly, trying to look anywhere but at them. I looked at Aaron for help, but he seemed as troubled as I was about the situation, his eyes wandering. I realized I'd have to be the one to get us out of rough waters.

I swallowed hard trying to think what to say. "I-it's - It's not what it looks like… I mean, it is but, it isn't, um…"

Fuck! What should I say? I looked again at Aaron, who was giving me a side glance of the same gesture.

This time Ambrose laughed, "I've got to say, she's quite a keeper, but maybe come up with a good story to cover up first before acting on anything."

Andie rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, you could have done that in the house, and not in the driveway where everyone can see you…"

… Why didn't I think of moving…? Still bashful I bowed my head slightly, looking at anything but the people around me. I saw a movement in the corner of my eye, causing me to turn towards Aaron and I saw that he had bowed his head in embarrassment as well; in fact he was blushing ever so slightly, too.

I felt that I should be worried about something, or rather someone, but I only saw Andie, Ambrose, and Aaron…

"Aaron, aren't you properly going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" cooed Ambrose.

I looked at him, then Aaron asking, "You know him…?"

Aaron's face became redder as he looked away. "U-um… Y-yeah… You see… Well… U-um…"

"Aw, c'mon son, just spit it out," chuckled Ambrose again.

I turned to Aaron again for an explanation. "Son…?"

I could feel his embarrassment and slight resentment; I was sure that if he could sink through this ground and into hell, he would love to do so right now.

He turned slowly towards me, still red, and said, "Y-yeah… Well… Remember that unexpected pick up today…?"

I gave him another suspicious look. "Yeah," I said slowly, nodding.

"W-well…" He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at our company then me. "Audrey… Meet my father… Ambrose…"

* * *

**_A/N Update: Huh, I didn't do as bad as a job as I did before... Anyway, I'm a little more satisfied with these two chapters. I added a few more things here and there, took out a couple of other things, and tried to improve it overall. Let me know what you think about everything so far and thanks again so much for sticking around this far. ~  
_**


	12. CHAPT11: What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

**CHAPTER 11: What Have I Gotten Myself Into?**

I sat quietly at the dinner table, still staring at Ambrose in disbelief; Aaron looked _nothing_ like his father.

It turned out Ambrose was here to meet me and see what type of person I was; basically meaning to check me out and see if I'm suitable for his son. Before he could see me, though, he had to see how much of our relationship Andie approved, which is why he wanted to talk to him first and not me just yet.

He had also wanted to invite us to go to their beach house is Ft. Myers with his family in a couple of weekends, which acquired asking our parents permission. I had to admit that I was pretty impressed with his plan.

During that situation Aaron had come by to make sure his father wasn't embarrassing him. Unfortunately, while I was waiting for Aaron to come over I saw a dog about to get ran over and in the process of saving it I got hit by the car that was threatening to run the poor little animal over. Luckily, Aaron was there to scold at the driver and scare him off. Me being hurt, Aaron felt bad for me and meant to only give me a little kiss, which ended up being a complete make-out session. We got caught in the act of doing so and I found out there that Ambrose was Aaron's father.

While I gaped at Ambrose in disbelief that he was really my boyfriends' father, also being embarrassed that he had to see me in this situation, my mother arrived home and met Ambrose. She already knew about Aaron's and I relationship and had met him but never heard or met, obviously, his father.

And so, because of everything that happened, mum invited Ambrose and Aaron to dinner and I had to cancel the thing we were going to do at 4:30 with Kylie. After explaining to her what happened for a good 30 minutes while she yelled at me she finally understood and demanded I tell her everything the next day during history (Mr. Garcia said he wouldn't be there so that means free time for one hour).

Honestly, I don't remember anything from after I had gone outside to check out Ambrose's car to when Aaron was holding me in his arms, but Aaron insisted that that was what happened so I believe him. Besides, it'd explain the major pain in my legs and left side. I am still iffy of why that would wipe that part of my memory away, since I do have a good memory, but I decided to shrug it off and let it pass for now.

Anyway, I don't know how Ambrose could be Aaron's father because, well, he looks nothing _like_ him… Well, now that I look at him in a better light, he does have his hair… Also the slight tan… Not to mention his eye shape… And nose… Ah, the lips too… Damn, maybe he does look slightly like his father… I got a flashback of when I was kissing Aaron earlier and thought about how he had the same lips of his father-

EW! Get that thought out of your head Audrey! That's the _last_ thing you need to be thinking about! I shook my head, causing an uneasy glance from Aaron.

"You ok?" he whispered. I only had to give him a look of desperation for him to know and he sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't get to warn you sooner… I thought I'd be able to scoot him out of your house before he could do any damage but it's too late now…"

I felt bad for him, not only because his father is very talkative and is not letting my brother exit (mum somehow escaped his jaws, claiming that she needs to get something from the kitchen for our dinner) but because he had to stay through this embarrassment. Under the table I searched for his hand and held it. I gave him an easy smile and he smiled back without meaning to I'm sure.

Usually I would rest my head on his shoulder or something to comfort him but this is all I can do at the moment with one of my parents here, my brother, and Aaron's father.

My father couldn't attend, sadly. As usual, father couldn't make it because of his last minute business trip (his boss is such a dick) so he couldn't make it to dinner tonight, however he would love to meet Ambrose soon. I hate the business my father works for; they don't respect anyone and they treat everyone like shit. However, until he finds a better job with a higher income pay, he has to stay. Right now, he has a good position and he can't let it go just yet.

I thought back to the conversation I had with him a few nights ago and smiled when I remembered his promise on his precious coin collection that he would quit the moment he found a better job.

"You need to stop drifting off into la la land," Aaron smiled amused.

I blinked. "What? I was not…" He gave me a look that said, 'You really are a bad liar if you're going to say that you weren't'. I gaped at him. "I wasn't!" I argued, keeping my voice down. "I was thinking; there's a large difference between the two."

He rolled his eyes, causing me to pout at him. He suddenly bit back a yelp when I 'accidentally' dug my nails a little too deep into his hand. I smiled sweetly at my boyfriend as he pouted at me in return. "That wasn't nice," he mumbled. "That hurt."

I shrugged, making myself feel like a 5 year old because of the look I was throwing him. "Oops," I said in my most childish voice.

He couldn't resist the look and a toothy smile plastered upon his face. I smiled at him in return, shrugging and giving him an adorable look. Chuckling and slightly shaking his head, he looked down at my hand. Smiling more to himself, he stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. "You are quite an unpredictable person, aren't you?" he mumbled, his wide smile fading into more of a thoughtful one (if possible).

I watched him stroke my hand and smiled more. "If there's anyone that I can't predict it's you, and believe me I am quite good at that."

He gazed up at me, still a small smile on his countenance that looked like a challenging adoration but with light, content yet serious eyes. "Is that so?"

I blushed at the look he was giving me and looked away. I heard him chuckle as I felt him raise my hand. I looked in time to see him raise it to his lips and kiss it, looking at me the whole time with the same look. Again, he caught me off guard causing me to blush even more. I turned away again bashful to only gaze back. He was still smiling, seeming quite satisfied.

"I guess it is." I couldn't help but smile as he kept smiling at me, and I felt suddenly bubbly inside and content; I wasn't sure if it was my own feelings or his, or perhaps both, but I liked it.

I heard a cough and I turned to see Andie giving Aaron the most dangerous glare I've ever seen him give to anyone. It was so deadly that Aaron paled and looked away towards the table, the chair next to his father, the ceiling, anything, almost letting go of my hand that was still near his mouth. Almost. But he didn't, making me still bubbly as I gave Andie my glare that meant, 'Touch one hair on him and you're in deep shit'. At that look Andie looked away towards Ambrose, who seemed very amused in a very, very creepy way I did not like at all.

"So, lovebirds," he hummed in his baritone voice. "How long have you two been dating? I had to find out from Aaron's mother a few days ago that he was dating so I don't know how long you've known each other."

Aaron sunk into his seat, meaning I'd have to talk. From what I've seen so far, Aaron is very embarrassed of his father.

"Well," I said, looking at Aaron then his father, "we've been dating exactly a month from today." In my peripheral vision, I saw Aaron look at me then, giving a look that showed obvious guilt.

"Hmm, that's pretty good. Well seeing today in the street answers the next question of you guys kissing…"

I looked down then in embarrassment. Seeing my water I grabbed it, suddenly feeling thirsty. As I brought the cup to my lips to take a sip, he asked, "So… Have you guys 'ruffled the sheets' yet?"

I looked up at him over the lid of the cup, giving a questionable look. "You know… You guys _did_ it yet?" I still didn't get what he meant, but the tighter grip Aaron now had on my hand showed that he did. He sighed, smirking. "Have you had sex?" I choked on my water, somehow swallowing it, then coughed for air.

"DAD!" Aaron yelled angrily.

He looked at his son, still amused. "Well? Have you?"

"NO, WE HAVEN'T."

"Then why so embarrassed?"

"You don't ask that at the dinner table, dad!" Aaron groaned, putting his elbows on the table to support his head as he ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. I realized he was blushing, and feeling heat rise into my cheeks told me I was, too.

"Sooo… You're embarrassed because you have and I'm asking at the dinner table?" Ambrose asked again, this time with a huge grin on his face.

"NO!" Aaron yelled, his face as red as a tomato and his hair disheveled.

Ambrose laughed at his reaction, bellowing, "Oh, you're too easy, son!"

I rested my elbow on the table and leaned my head against it, groaning into the palm of my hand.

Andie looked at Aaron's father in disbelief; I'm sure he would've been pissed if we had been doing... That, however he wouldn't want me to be embarrassed, let alone be the son of the father purposely embarrassing his son in front of his girlfriend. Hell, I'm sure if father did that to Andie, he would've ran right out of the room with his girlfriend and never let him talk to her again. Is this going to happen with Aaron? I looked at Aaron who was glaring at his father, while Ambrose was looking accomplished with a wide grin. Maybe not tonight, but perhaps next time.

The awkward silence was starting to kill me, so I decided to kill it.

"So," I said smiling. "Who would like some rolls? Anyone?" When I didn't get an answer in a millisecond, I continued, "I'll bring them out now and see what's taking mum so long, then." With that I pushed my chair out and walked over to my mum in the next room, happy to be out of the awkwardness.

"Uh, wait sis," I heard Andie say as he screeched his chair back (causing me to wince at the sound), "I want to help, too," and he followed me to the kitchen, where our mother was.

As soon as we were in the kitchen and out of our guests sight, Andie gave me a desperate look. "Do you have to date someone whose father is an embarrassment to all sons and talks too much?"

I sighed, "Keep your voice down… Besides, he's not that bad…"

Andie gave me a look that contradicted what I said.

"He isn't! He could be worse. For example, asking about your date life."

Andie gave another look of contradiction and bitterness. "He did."

…

This deserved the awkward '. . .' comedy ha-you-were-so-wrong moment award.

"… That so…" He nodded. "… Huh… Still not that bad…" He gave me another look. "He isn't! He could be asking about our parents history!"

He continued giving me the stare, except blinking slowly.

"… Our past…?"

He blinked again.

"… Family heritage…?"

Looking annoyed, he blinked again.

"… Friends?"

Andie rolled his eyes and sighed, "Face it, you're wrong and I'm right. This guy is horrible; he's like an interrogator from hell! And don't go all optimistic on me, 'cause you know deep inside he is. I know you don't like to lie but just try and see it."

I groaned aggravated, then peeked behind the door frame to see what was going on in the next room.

Aaron was chuckling about something his dad said while Ambrose was smiling, looking very proud.

I smiled. "No, I still stand my ground; I think he's just an overprotective parent who loves his son." I felt Andie lean next to me. Seeing what I saw, he scoffed. "You suck." I only smiled wider, being right once again.


	13. CHAPTER 12: Eh, Incidents Happen

**CHAPTER 12: Eh, Incidents Happen**

I suppose Ambrose wasn't that bad… Or as bad as Aaron made me think he was, anyway. Despite embarrassing his son purposely with sexual references and talking too much, he's actually a really kind gentleman. However, I'm glad he isn't my father. Just because he's a nice guy doesn't mean I'd prefer him being my father. If he was, I think I would _die_ of embarrassment. I'm actually surprised Aaron hasn't yet (and happy for that!).

He makes me think of those preschool kids who are excited to enter elementary school for the first time. The way he talks so much and gets so excited over some subjects… He reminds me of Andie when he was a kid. And that wasn't fun. _At all_. (Part of the reason why I didn't have a fantastic childhood is because of him. I'm a sarcastic bitch at times _because of him_.) But, I shouldn't compare the father of my boyfriend to my annoying brother, whom I love dearly but at times cannot stand.

Unlike Andie, at least Ambrose has manners at the table and knows how to say please and how to pass food around- wait, am I belittling my only brother? Should I feel guilty?

… Eh, he does that to me all the time. And calls me AYTS. Why should I feel bad? He's a giant jerk… That I love… You know, sometimes I hate family because I'm forced to love them… Then again he does help me sometimes when he feels like it… God damn it, why does he have to be like that!

I felt a poke on my cheek and I raised my eyebrows as I blinked and changed my gaze from the open textbook in front of me to whoever had poked me at my left.

"You're being boring," Kylie commented, her words being muffled behind teeth due to hand keeping her jaws glued together. Her body and countenance showed that she was analyzing me in boredom, her chin and cheek being leaned into the palm of her left hand.

I blinked slowly then looked back to my textbook, which was my AP Environmental book.

We were sitting in the library for study hall, which took place after lunch every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It makes no sense to me why they would have it on a Friday, but whatever; I'm fine with it. I like a shorter math class than usual, especially when it's early release; I only have the evil wrench for 30 minutes.

I felt a poke in my cheek again and, getting aggravated, looked at Kylie again with my eyes. She pouted, "Entertain me."

I blinked. "No."

She started to whine, "Aww, c'mon…"

"No," and I turned back to my book. Abruptly, I saw my book slam shut and I blinked a couple times in surprise, jumping at both the suddenness and loud 'THUD' that was made in the slight silence, and turned to Kylie so fast with annoyance that so clearly spoken on my face that my hair in pigtails flew and one of them slapped me softly in the cheek.

"What _is_ your problem?" I whispered harshly, making a low hissing sound.

Kylie, her hand slinking back to her own side of the table, pouted even more. "En. Ter. Tain. Me. Now," she spoke with each syllable pronounced accurately and said in a deeper tone as the syllables continued, so it sounded more of a decreasing scale on a piano.

I rolled my eyes at her childishness and sighed. "I want to get my work done… I have a test I gotta study for in APES."

I'm too lazy to say 'AP Environmental Science'; besides the acronym sounds cooler and animalistic.

"No!" she said frowning, sounding like a toddler.

I hissed at her again to shut up before the librarian came over and kicked us out, and she began to throw an even larger tantrum. In desperation, I tried to compromise with her. "Well, what do you want me to do to entertain you? There's nothing I can do here!"

Kylie frowned again and leaned back against her chair. "Then let's go outside."

I brought my head to the palm of my hand and covered my eyes, basically face palming myself.

"We can't," I sighed, gritting my teeth as my impatience ran higher. "We're not allowed to. Don't you remember the last time we tried to do that? We almost got a detention with the bitc- devil teacher." I almost forgot that I gave up cursing. For lent, I had decided to not curse as much to at all due to my brother's insistence that I do something for lent this year. (Even though I can still technically think it and it's over as soon as Easter comes, but he doesn't know that God and I made that arrangement, wink wink.)

She sighed sharply and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning forward slightly to hunch her back. "I want to be entertained though! This is so boring. Can't we, like, go somewhere or something?"

I wanted to slam my head against the desk. Repeatedly. Until all of my brain cells leaked from my ears and onto my APES book like tears.

Sadly, that's not possible.

"Look, if you want to be entertained, why don't you read a book? It's actually healthier for you than playing games and annoying me," I nearly growled.

She pouted again, "Don't use that tone on me, missy. I'll whip you across the room before you can say 'I have a lovely bunch of coconuts'. And you know I hate reading… It's so… Boring, really. I don't know how you can do it."

The muscle below and above my left eye twitched. "It's called audio books, hun; you can rent them out of the library here if you want…"

I frowned as I realized what her comeback was for my growling. "Wait, sooo you'll toss me across the room before I can sing 'I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts'? That's a bit of time for me to travel across isn't it? I thought the song was roughly five minutes long."

A light shade of pink started to spread across her cheeks. "Shut up. You got my point."

I smirked, finally hitting a nerve to make her _femme la bouche_. (I learned that's 'Shut the mouth', or basically 'Shut up' in French. See? If only Andie could see my thoughts now.)

"Why? You're the one who's threatening me to throw me across the room."

She narrowed her eyes and her head lowered about a centimeter without tilting her head.

At her action I smirked even wider, giving her an amused look. "See? This is why you don't play with fire: You'll get burned."

She rose an eyebrow. Why can everyone do that but me? "I think you're using the wrong saying for this type of situation."

Rolling my eyes I shook my head, "It doesn't matter if I'm using it right as long as you know what I mean. Since when did I care, anyways?"

"… True, but still…"

I rolled my eyes again, smiling to myself, and turned back to my book just in time for the bell to ring. I stared at the book completely irritated, practically glaring at it as my mouth formed a thin line. Typical. Of course the bell would ring right when I go back to studying. Of course it would...

I shifted my glare to Kylie who was now laughing hysterically. "Shut up," I mumbled as I angrily slammed my book shut, gathering my things, and left before she could say anything else to counter back. She was still laughing when I left the library fuming. Great, I have a test next class and I'm not nearly as prepared for it as I ought to be, I thought to myself. Just perfect.

"Audrey!"

I stopped in the hallway I was walking through, my thoughts being interrupted, and frowned at the familiar male voice calling for me. I turned towards the voice that was behind me when I heard my name being called again. I realized that the voice belonged to Brion, who was making his way through the flood of students going to their next classes.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked slightly puzzled and curious.

Panting he finally reached me and smiled, "Hey, mind if I talk to you for a minute? I want to ask ya something."

As usual, his Irish accent caused him to flip his 'r' and I mask my amusement, but a mixed Irish-American accent was slowly being heard after being in the States for 2 months or so now.

Now being extremely curious and cautious, I checked my phone for the time. I still have a good 5 minutes until my next class and roughly 3 minutes until I meet up with Aaron. "Sure, but let's not have it in the middle of the hallway," I smiled as I put my phone back into my pocket.

He laughed as I followed him towards the lockers that were on our left side, but he wasn't taking me to the lockers really, I assumed; he was probably taking me to the empty space after the lockers so that we wouldn't get stampeded by students. As I followed him, I saw that my assumption was correct.

"So," I said when Brion turned around to face me, "What cha want to talk about?"

I flinched slightly when his facial expression became grim. "I wanted to ask what exactly happened a couple days ago. There's been rumors going around that you got hit by a car."

I shivered at the seriousness in his voice; I've never seen him serious before, and to be honest, it was kind of hot. I also found it annoying, however, that everyone in the God damned school knew about my incident. Jesus Christ, why can't people just mind their own damn business?

"I did," I responded, moving all of my books to one arm while my other brushed a strand of hair in front of my face behind my ear. "It's a bit of a long story, but it was a truck and not a car… Where did you hear this from?"

"Why did you get hit by a truck? Do you remember?" he asked, taking a step closer to me.

I sighed, seeing he was ignoring my question. "I got hit because I saw that a dog was going to be hit by a car, or at least that's what Aaron told me… I don't remember to be honest."

He frowned, "Aaron? Who's he?"

Again, I kept my composure and held back the laugh I wanted to have so badly right now at the mention of my boyfriends' name and the way he had flipped the 'r' in his name. "He's my boyfriend," I explained. "He came to this school about the same time as you did."

His dark green eyes burned in curiosity. "You have a boyfriend? Since when?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "A little more than a month now. I'm surprised you didn't know that…"

He brushed away his flaming hair that was in front of his eyes and tilted his head towards me. "Hmm, no, I didn't… Was he dare when you got hit?"

I nodded, then shrugged. "He was there but I have no recollection of this what-so-ever. It's like it never happened, but I know it did because I felt the pain afterwards."

Again he frowned. "What do you mean you have no recollection?"

"I mean just that. I don't remember anything from when I left my house to when I was with Aaron. It's like there's a gap in my memory- Actually, that's exactly what it is: An empty space in my memory that I just can't seem to remember… And whenever I try and do get something it's so fuzzy I can't see it. It's frustrating, really."

He scratched the orange-ish, reddish stubble that was on his cheek. "Is that so," he mumbled. "Hmm, dat is peculiar…" He stared at me intently, probably thinking but it was uncomfortable enough that I shifted nervously under his gaze.

After perhaps a minute he shrugged and gave me a toothy smile. "Well, I just wanted to see if it was true or not and that you were ok, that's all. Sorry for asking such a random question out of ze blue."

I laughed, kind of glad yet sad at the same time that he wasn't serious anymore. "It's fine. It just shows that you were worried about me, which I appreciate, by the way," I smiled, realizing the last sentence of what he said was kind of odd sounding to my ears.

He bowed slightly, "Well, I can't help but to worry about my first actual friend here in the United States, especially when she was the one who helped me with my classes on me first day here." He looked up to show that he was smiling brighter than before.

I shook my head laughing as I started to walk away from Brion, who was following me shortly. "Is that so? Are you that lonely?"

He scoffed. "Not as much as you!"

I laughed again as I saw Aaron standing near the doorway of our next class. "You wish you were as lonely as me. But hey, I'll talk to you later, ok? Thinking of lonely, I have someone I have to take care of."

Assuming he was following my gaze, I could almost hear his smile in his voice. "Ahh, I see. Well then, I shall leave you two be then and head to class. Glad teh hear you're alright, though, and I'll talk to ya tomorrow. Cheers," and he left with a smirk on his face.

Amazed at how his accent fluctuates between an Irish accent to an Irish-American accent, I pushed that out of mind as I approached Aaron with a smirk. "Well, hello there stranger."

Looking at me the whole time while I was talking to Brion with a broad smile, he leaned off the wall and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Stranger? I was sure that we were a bit more than that."

I smirked and leaned my body against him, still holding my books that were between us. "Hmm, you're right. We're more like acquaintances."

He frowned playfully and stuck his lower lip out. "Now that just hurts," he complained, trying to keep himself from smiling. I was able to feel the joy radiating from him, and also some slight jealousy that was covered by pride. My eyebrows twitched downward in curiosity. Was he jealous to see me with Brion? No, he can't be... Why would he...? Well, just in case…

I giggled, covering up my thoughts, "I'd hope so, but you should also know that I'm not serious."

He smiled again and leaned his forehead against my own. "Well that's good," he commented, adoration now leaking into me, and he kissed me softly on my lips which I responded to immediately. I then felt content and a ever growing happiness and pride, and…

Jealousy? No, this is definitely not Aaron's emotions.

Still kissing Aaron, I opened one eye to see who had this emotion. As I looked around the busy hallway, I didn't see anyone who I could feel be jealous.

That was, until I held eye contact with an auburn haired boy with light green eyes that seemed to glow like jewels. He was wearing a black jacket over his usual uniform and seemed to be glaring at me, which confirmed that it was he who was jealous. I froze as I also felt slight hatred and anger. I knew it had to be towards me, since the anger in his countenance and eyes showed it to be so, but why me? What the hell did I do to him that he was feeling like this?

Feeling me freeze suddenly, Aaron pulled back and touched my cheek tenderly. "Is everything ok? What's wrong?" he asked softly.

I turned my head towards Aaron, my eyes being last to pull away from the boys' gaze, and looked at him, uncertain of what to say. My eyes strayed from Aaron and back to the boy, but he was already walking in the opposite direction. I looked back to Aaron to see he followed my gaze.

"It- It was nothing, don't worry about it," I reassured him.

Aaron frowned before looking back to me, holding me against him tighter. "Was he looking at you?" he murmured, seriousness yet affection being mixed in his voice just so that it caused a cold chill down my spine.

"Ah, well…" I bit my lower lip, not wanting to get the poor stranger in trouble.

He smiled and pecked me on the lips. "That's just like you, not wanting to get the kid in trouble. Am I right?"

Ashamed I blushed lightly and looked downwards, more towards the door to my classroom. He brought his hand to my chin and tilted my head upwards, forcing me to look at him.

The action felt… Strangely familiar… And I felt the affection not just through his emotions (somehow) but also through his eyes, which were bright and in a beautiful light purple shade. However, there was also another feeling, a darker feeling, that I couldn't see and was able to tell he was hiding from me…

"_I would never dream of hurting you…."_

"Come on, let's get to class," he said softly and put his hand at the small of my back to help guide me into our classroom.

I blinked at the words that were never spoken and wondered what that was and where it came from. Shaking it off, I shook my head as another curiosity came to me. Before I entered the already opened door, I dared to look behind me again to find a pair of light green eyes looking at me before disappearing again.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"Bored," I half sang as I threw the rubber ball at the wall in front of me and caught it as it bounced back to me. "Bored." I threw it again at the same wall and caught it when it bounced back.

"Bored bored." I repeated my action.

"Bored bored."

I started to feel annoyance and a glare at my right side but I ignored it as I, again, repeated my action.

"Bored bored bored."

I caught it again.

"Bored bored bored-"

"Will you PLEASE shut the fuck up?"

I turned to my right, my mouth still open from when I was going to say 'bored' again and looked at Andie's angry composure.

I blinked, "It's not my fault I'm bored. Besides, it was your idea to visit your counselor."

We were in the guidance counselor office waiting room (or should I say 'hallway' since it's just chairs lined up against a wall that leads to other rooms) and had been in there for almost a half hour. Me, being the impatient person I was, first hummed random songs that popped into my head until I got bored with that and started to play with the rubber ball that I found under my chair. I didn't start saying anything until I was bored with just tossing the ball. I was rambling random words until I just started to say what I was feeling, which was, if anyone hadn't noticed already, 'bored'.

Andie had his hand entangled in his hair while his left foot was tapping the floor repeatedly, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "If you're that bored, why don't you just leave?" he growled.

Little did he know that I had already thought about this. "Can't; we're sharing the same car, remember?"

He opened his mouth to say something probably to retaliate back at me that I could've asked a friend or something but a different man's voice replaced his own: "Andrew Steinbach?"

He shut his mouth immediately and nearly ran into the room parallel to his seat.

As he was walking in, a boy with his hoodie up and hands stuffed in his pockets walked out and avoided collision with my brother. As the boy looked up at me he stopped in his tracks. I noticed that he had an angular jaw, a large but sharp pointed nose with thin lips and piercing light green eyes that was slightly covered by auburn hair…

"Hey," I mumbled almost to myself, "you're that kid…"

At that the kids' body froze up and he shifted to run away from me. I felt something hard kick my ankle, however, and next thing I know, I'm yelping in pain as the kid falls flat on his face. I rubbed my ankle before standing up to walk to the kid and kneel next to him. I breathed in sharply when I realized he had a bloody nose. "Oh my God, are you ok?" I asked, reaching towards him to help him up.

His once closed eyes snapped open then and in half a second he was up again pinching his nose. "Yes, fine, just fine, yes," he stammered, his voice not deep but sounding nasally I suppose due to his nose being pinched closed.

I frowned in concern as I got up. "Are you sure? I can help, you know…"

He seemed confused, and I could feel how much he was, too. He seemed to be torn about something, probably whether he should let me help him or not, and his eyes darted everywhere but me as he stammered for an answer.

He was close to my height, probably 5' 8" or so, and looked younger than me. I assumed he was a freshman because of that younger appearance and also because his voice was a little too high for a guy who was my age. Then again, he could just seem younger than me and really be a senior, who knows unless I ask?

I sighed as the kid continued stuttering and decided to answer for him when I grabbed a couple tissues from a tissue box near me and walked to him. Everything seized up when he saw I was in front of him, and I could tell he was even holding his breath. I raised my hand that was holding the tissues and gave him a questioning glance, tilting my head slightly. When he gave nothing but a wide-eyed frightened look, I sighed slightly aggravated, "I'm not going to hurt you; I only want to help."

He continued to stare at me, probably debating to say yes or no like earlier. I don't know why he's so scared of me, I mean I know I'm intimidating but I don't think I'm _that_ intimidating. No matter the reason, it's starting to piss me off. I was getting ready to just leave him if he didn't answer me in the next couple minutes.

"Ok," he murmured under his breath and I jumped at the suddenness of his voice.

Finally! I thought to myself. The creature speaks! Keeping my thoughts to myself, I smiled at him warmly and removed his hand from his nose for him.

The damage wasn't as bad as he made me think it was. In fact, there was only a little blood that was easy to clean up. As I was finishing, forcing myself to stay awake and not puke, I decided that I would get his name before he tried to run away from me again. "So," I asked slowly, "can I ask what your name is?"

I saw him stiffen at my voice, but relax with even breaths.

"Joseph," he said so softly that if I wasn't so close to him, I probably wouldn't have heard him.

I smiled that I got something out of him. "Hmm, mine is Audrey. Nice to meet cha," I responded cheerfully. I thought it'd be too soon to ask why he was so jealous at me and decided to perhaps become better acquainted with him before I ask, meaning getting to know him a little better over the next week or so. It'll be a pain, but my curiosity was getting the better of me, again.

"I know that," he mumbled softly. "Aaron's mentioned you…"

I stopped what I was doing and frowned. No, there was no way I could've heard that right. "What did you say? I could've sworn you said that Aaron's mentioned me to you."

Joseph looked away from the plant that was in between the chairs parallel to my brother's counselor's room then and gazed into my eyes, his jewel green orbs seeming to peer into me. "I did say that. He's talked about you. He fancies you a lot, you know… I've never seen him like this with other girls but you're different from the others; you care and are more similar to him than you think. It's that that makes him attracted to you, that and your beauty of course. You're really pretty, did you know that? There are a lot of girls here at this school but you strike me the most and…" And he rambled on and on and on, but I started to ignore what he was saying after he starting how 'pretty' I was.

I first couldn't believe that I thought he was quiet and second that Aaron actually knows this kid, Joseph. I mean, I don't expect to meet all of his friends but I would think that the ones he has mentioned to me about he would introduce them to me. I mean, what the hell?

He was still rambling as I frowned in thought. Perhaps he did it for my own good? But that's stupid; why would he do it for that? Then I realized that he was _still_ talking, faster and louder than he was earlier. Maybe he was saving my insanity.

"… B-but, anyways, um, thanks for cleaning me up…" I smiled as I tuned back into the conversation that was mainly one-sided. "You're welcome. Just let me know when you want to hang out with Aaron and I, ok? Don't be so scared of us. I promise we won't bite."

Joseph seemed to flinch at the last part. "O-ok… Um, well, I have to go now but it was nice meeting you, Audrey. Um, well… Bye."

And just like that he left without so much of a glance back. I stared at his back for a little bit before shaking my head, deciding that I would talk to Aaron about this some other time.

Thinking of time, Andie had stepped out of the office shortly after Joseph disappeared, closing the door behind him, with a bright smile on his face - The complete opposite mood of how he was when he left me earlier. Trying to raise an eyebrow suspiciously but failing, I gave him a skeptical look. He simply rolled his eyes at me still smiling and continued walking towards the exit, stopping in the middle to turn and see when I was going to follow. Again, I tried but failed as I gathered my things and followed him towards the door.

"You know, your moods freak me out sometimes," I commented mainly to myself. I saw him smirk in my peripheral vision, but he said nothing, making me wonder what exactly he talked about in the counselor's office.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

After threatening my brother that I would tell Kylie that he liked her, I found out why he was so cheerful. (Yes, I actually went as far as threatening to get the information out of him… Ok, maybe I immediately jumped to conclusions and threatened him despite the exasperated look on his face that said he was going to tell me anyway but still! Gotta be safe!) The reason why he was so was because he found out that he was available for a scholarship that dealt with computers. If he wins this scholarship, he would get $5,000 per semester.

I was honestly shocked to hear this at first; it wasn't because he was interested in scholarships, it was because junior year hasn't even gone close to ending yet and he was already looking for scholarships. "Why are you looking for scholarships when AP exams haven't begun and the third quarter hasn't even ended yet?" I asked vexed.

He sighed and shook his head as if I was too young to understand, ticking me off even more.

"Oh Audrey, you won't understand but I'll try my best. A couple days ago, I was talking to one of my old friends from last year who graduated. As I was talking to him, he was telling me how hard it was to pay for college and how he regretted not getting scholarships in the beginning of his senior year. So, thinking of that, I realized that _I_ could become one of those people who forget to apply for colleges. And so, in conclusion so that I don't confuse you," my upper lip twitched in annoyance at this, "I decided that I wanted to apply for scholarships now while it's still fresh in my mind so that if I do forget in September, I'd at least have this."

It took every fiber of my being to not punch him in the face. I didn't _care_ that he was my brother; nobody talks to me like that as if I'm a freaking idiot.

"Hm, well, here's a question: _What if you don't get the scholarship?_" I asked as bitterly as I could, spitting poison and making sure I was emphasizing each word venomously.

He frowned, "Well, I've thought of that… I'd just continue applying for scholarships. Either that or I'd go apply for a job."

I looked at him suspiciously as we approached our driveway, seeing as Andie was driving. "Didn't you already have a job?"

He pulled into the driveway and parked the car, sighing. "Little sister, when you get to the point that I'm at in life, you'll understand."

My upper lip curled back this time, revealing my canine teeth. "We're the same age."

"Maybe so, but I'm still a half hour older than you, thus making me wiser and all-knowing."

My upper lip twitched as did my eyebrow. "Is that so?" I snarled between gritted teeth.

Obviously not noting my annoyed anger, he nodded. "Yep, that's right my Padawan. But don't worry, I'll help you out when it comes to you and you have to apply for-"

I couldn't take his arrogance anymore.

So I punched him in the jaw. Hard.

He leapt back and clutched his mouth, howling in pain and elbowing the horn so that it honked a long piercing note. I shook my hand to ease off the pain while I smirked at myself; I was pretty damn proud of myself for standing up against my brother, who usually isn't a know-it-all prick.

"What the fuck was that for?" he screamed behind his nursing hand, muffling his words.

I smiled wider. "For being a prick, a-hole. Besides, I'm obviously a Jedi." And with that, I picked up my things and walked out of the car and into the house, feeling rather valiant that I didn't even curse.

* * *

**_A/N: Ok, let me know of ANY mistakes in here, ok? I usually triple check my work before submitting but I'm feeling rather tired right now and I don't feel like checking... I'm not usually like this but right now I'm going to be, hehe... I was originally going to put another chapter and smash that one together with chapter 11 but as I read it, I saw that it was kind of random and slightly out of place, so I've made this one instead. I hope you guys like it. :))_**

**_I also want to thank _Sexy Paranormal_ and _xCherryOnTopxx_ for the reviews; you guys really didn't have to, haha but I appreciate it and you're awesome! :DDD Cookies for you!_**

**_Although this time, I'd like it if I get reviews... Just this one time, please... I was thinking of changing this from 'T' to 'M' because I re-read the guidelines (yes, I get THAT bored sometimes) and realized that I do put a lot of cursing in here along with some references to illegal drugs. (In the U.S. at least.) So, what do you guys, the readers, think? Should I change it or not? I will change it according to your opinions. I will accept anonymous. :)) Ok! Sooo with that, I'm gonna go. Ciao! ~_**

**_A/N Update: Don't worry about the errors. Already fixed them. And I'm keeping it 'T', but if you have anything you want to comment on about (the story, my style of writing, the characters, etc.), lemme know. Ciao, and thank you guys again. ~_**


	14. CHAPTER 13: Unexpected Turns

**CHAPTER 13: Unexpected Turns**

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" I asked Aaron as I drove him towards the mall.

I looked at him quickly and he shrugged. "Don't know. I guess we could watch another movie, right?"

I rolled my eyes and looked back to the road. "We always do that though… Why don't we do something special this time?"

"Like what?"

"Well, I don't know; I hoped you would know"

"Hey, you're the one who suggested it."

I smiled, "True, but you always have a good idea and end up surprising me in a good way."

I felt his hand rest on top of mine on the shifting gear. "Is that so?"

I giggled, "Yes, just like that."

I felt him lean over the middle section of the car, put his weight on my seat, and then kiss me on the cheek. This time I laughed, giggling, "You're going to make me crash!"

He started kissing down my cheek to my jaw line, "We're almost there anyway; we're not going to crash."

I giggled again when he reached my neck.

"Besides… If we do crash…I will take full responsibility of kissing you."

I laughed again as he kissed my cheek before going back to his seat.

"You're so spontaneous. Did you know that?" I giggled.

I looked at him in time to see him smirk. "I might," he said, stretching his arms into the air before going behind his head.

I giggled again, looking back at the road.

"You know… We could always go to the beach…" I heard Aaron murmur.

I furrowed my eyebrows. I loved the idea and would love to go, but neither of us have bathing suits, and I don't want to swim naked, especially since I don't exactly feel _that_ close to Aaron.

"No?" Aaron asked.

I shook my head, "It's not that I don't want to - I love the idea - it's just that I don't plan on using my birthday suit to swim."

"Who said we were going swimming?"

I turned to look at him again. He was tilting his head towards me, and might I say he was giving me a very sexy look. I felt some heat rise into my cheeks as I thought why he would be giving that look and looked away ashamed of the thought.

"U-um, then what would we be doing instead…?" I asked slowly.

"Ever heard of a picnic? We can have dinner there until the sun sets."

I smiled at the idea. "Ok, sounds good," I turned into the parking lot. "However, this means I'm going to have to turn around."

He put his hand on the steering wheel, and as I turned to look at him he crashed his lips against mine. I slammed my foot on the brake soon after he did this in surprise and kissed back, hoping no one was behind me and happy that I had slowed down to about 5 miles an hour. After a few seconds he broke the kiss and looked at me, smirking, "We need to get our dinner, don't we?"

I laughed and kissed him again, breaking it as soon as he was getting into it. "Like I said, you are so unpredictable," I smirked back, winking at him. He turned his head so that he was looking at me from an angle. "Are you teasing me?"

I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "Maybe." I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed as I continued looking for a parking spot, now that a car behind me was honking at me angrily. I found a spot that was towards the opposite side of the parking lot, quite a distance from the mall ("Hey, at least we're getting our exercise for the day," I commented), and entered the mall within 5 minutes.

The mall is an outdoor one called 'The Springs' and it is the most beautiful one here in Miami. The outside of the mall looks just as beautiful as the inside. With many palm trees and decorated lights, it feels safe. The inside has a sort of mini creek running through the middle of the mall, and just looking at it is so serene, not to mention the many shops around the mall and many restaurants and places to eat at. If I had to pick a favorite mall, this one would be the one. I mean, not that I don't like the other malls but this one is my over-all favorite.

My favorite mall to find clothes and such (basically shopping) is called 'Dadeside Mall' and that one is huge with a Macy's and a Nordstrom's plus a Cheesecake Factory and two Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Hot Topic stores, not to mention the other shops I hadn't mentioned and the food court, which has roughly 15-17 places to eat from (if you include Smoothie Paradise and the ice cream store). Yeah, the place is huge.

"Are you lost in your thoughts again?" Aaron asked amused.

I turned to stick my tongue out for the second time. "Yes, what is it to you?" I squeaked, trying to seem childish.

He smiled wider, showing his toothy grin, and wrapped his arm around my waist, causing me to almost fall into him. "Nothing at all, love," he kissed me on my temple.

I giggled and awkwardly kept walking that way through most of the mall, not caring how people looked at us. But eventually, the awkwardness was killing my back so I shifted so that I could hold on to his arm in one hand and hold his hand on the same arm with the other hand.

"I thought that looked uncomfortable," Aaron commented. I sneered at him but gripped to him tighter.

I looked at a Hot Topic store we were passing and saw lots of dark, goth looking clothing mixed in with happy go-lucky fan shirts (I always thought that was funny), and I thought of Joseph and our conversation. Now is better to ask than ever, I thought to myself.

"Hey, I have a question," I said softly, waiting for his reply.

"Yes?"

I cleared my throat. "Do you talk about me to your friends?" I gave a side-way glance to Aaron, who was giving me a suspicious glance.

"Yes," he said slowly, being cautious, "I do sometimes… Why do you ask…?" He paused, "Am I in trouble?"

I shook my head, chuckling, "No, you're not in trouble. I was just wondering…"

I hesitated for a moment, wondering how to bring in Joseph into the conversation.

I saw him glance at me and give a small smile. "For some reason, I have a feeling there's more to that. What's on your mind?"

He pulled me slightly closer to him and kept his eyes on me, showing that his attention was on me. I smiled at the small gesture appreciating it and decided to just say it out there.

"You're right, there is… I met Joseph on Monday."

He seemed to stiffen at the name but relax a semi second later. "Did you?" he murmured.

I nodded, "Yeah, he said that you talk to him a lot about me… He assured me that they were all good things about me but, I was just wondering… Why didn't you tell me or something? Or, at least let me meet him? You're obviously close to him from what I could tell."

Aaron raised his left arm that I was holding on to to rub the back of his neck and I watched him closely. "Well… There's something you have to know about that… You see, he's not exactly a friend of mine." I gave him a confused look before he corrected himself, "I mean, he's not a friend of mine because he's a family member… He's my brother."

I suddenly felt shocked, and it clearly showed on my countenance according to my reflection in Aaron's violet eyes. Joseph was Aaron's younger brother?! Impossible. He looks nothing like him; how could they be brothers? And… Why didn't he tell me?

I asked the last question that was on my mind genuinely and he sighed. "Something you have to understand about me is that I don't like talking about my family much… We all don't exactly get along very well, so to speak…"

I frowned and gave him a softer look, "Oh… I see. I'm sorry if I-"

"Don't worry about it," he smiled, kissing me in my hair above my ear. "Let's just enjoy our little picnic date, shall we?"

I smiled too and giggled softly when he blew a wisp of air into my ear.

We walked pass a store and Aaron looked inside, slowing down in the process. I gave him a questioning look. "What?" I looked at the sign and groaned inwardly.

Little Tea Town is Aaron's favorite store ever because he loves tea; green tea, black tea, oolong tea, English tea, American tea, herbal tea, you-name-it tea. He looked at me with the same face he always gives me whenever he wants something: He gave me the puppy look with the lower lip puckered out and the big wide, watery purple eyes that are begging for me to let him into the store. Sadly, he's as good of an actor as I am, and since I get guilty very easily, plus my lack of patience, I usually fall for them.

But I won't this time. I refuse to.

I furrowed my eyebrows and pouted. "No. We spent a whole hour in there the last time we were here."

He lowered his head a little, adding effect. I glared at him softly. "No!"

He lowered his head even more, causing his hair to fall near his face. I whined softly so I wouldn't catch attention, "You know I don't like tea."

This time he tilted his face down so I couldn't see his face. Slowly, he started to walk away from his favorite shop. I couldn't believe my eyes. Usually, he begs but now… A pang of guilt sliced through my chest. No, no, no, don't feel guilty, Audrey, I thought to myself. Stay clear, stay focused. I looked straight ahead, and a couple seconds later gave a side-glance to Aaron.

He seemed pretty down…

I bit my lower lip and looked down to the ground. Then I squeezed my eyes shut as the words wanted to creep out of my mouth. Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it, don't say it, don't say it…

Oooooh!

I turned Aaron around abruptly as I nearly pulled him back to the shop. No! I'm not going to say it! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not! When we arrived to the shop, I pushed him inside and turned around to hide my face of self-resentment of what I had done.

People must've been looking at me weird because I heard a, "Mommy, look! She's funny, hee hee," and a mumble straight after. I moved my hands from my face annoyed, my eyebrow twitching. I looked to my right and saw people look away from me and continue their conversations with people while eyeing me. I looked to my left and saw the same reaction, except with people avoiding eye contact while walking by me only to stare at my back. Again my eyebrow twitched and I glared at the people around me.

Aaron is SO going to get it this time. Making me feel guilty, self betrayed, plus having me say without words, "Here you go!" and shoving him into the store we've been going to for hours on end, then after all that have people look at me as if I'm some crazy person. Who does he think he is? He should be kissing the ground I walk on! Not making me feel guilty! And this always happens! Oh he is SO going to get it when he gets out of that stupid store!

Silently in my head, I schemed of methods of torturing him so badly it made me grin evilly, causing people to look at me oddly even more.

Just when I was going to storm into the store to let him have it, I felt a nudge. Now being worked up, I turned around indifferent. "What?" I asked annoyed.

I saw violet eyes, soft brown hair, slightly tan skin, and a look so loving and sympathetic it made me speechless. He leaned in and gave me a small kiss as he pulled my hand ever so softly and placed something in it. I pulled away to see what exactly he put in my hand and saw it was origami. Usually whenever I see origami it's of a swan or a boulder (I'm good at making those whenever I need to practice my waste-basketball skills in class) but this one was different. It was of a heart, which honestly I've seen a lot of but, this one somehow looked different. I couldn't put my finger on it but, it did. I looked up at him and smiled softly.

"It's made with a leaf," he told me. "That's why it looks so different." I blinked and looked at him astonished that he probably made this with a leaf and that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

He smirked, "I could tell you were wondering what it was made of… You're not that hard to read, dear."

I rolled my eyes at one of my many little pet names for me, but looked back to him sharing the same smirk that was slightly more loving. "Thank you," I murmured and leaned upward. As he smiled and leaned in, expecting a kiss from me, I smirked mischievously. I moved slightly to his left and he kissed nothing but air as he snapped his eyes open and stumbled to keep his balance.

"However, I'm still gonna kick your ass," I laughed. He looked at me dumbfounded until it finally turned to one of exasperation, probably realizing that he should have expected that from me. He sighed and took my free hand to walk me more through the mall, me giggling the whole time.

After a few minutes of silence he stopped again and I turned to him. I thought he was stopping for a restaurant but he wasn't. He seemed really enveloped in his thoughts, causing a shadow to cast under his eyes and forehead. After a few seconds of him just standing like that, I got worried.

"Aaron?" I asked softly. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to me abruptly. Wow, if he forgot he was with me he must be really into his thoughts…

Then again he does do that quite often, especially since recently. It kind of makes me a little sad every time he does that now that I think about it…

I guess my facial expression showed my thoughts because Aaron looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry… Was thinking about something…"

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously… May I ask what thought got you in such a trance you stopped walking and forgot you were with your amazing girlfriend?"

Again, he looked at me sheepishly and continued walking. "It's nothing, really… Before you ask," he interrupted as I opened my mouth to protest, "it really isn't anything. Just something that's been on my mind for a while, no big deal."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'm serious! Really!"

I narrowed my eyes even more.

"Oh my god- I mean it!"

I narrowed my eyes so much they were slits and my eye lashes covered some of my vision.

He sighed, "Ok, tell you what… I promise to tell you eventually ok? Just… Not right now; it'd kill the mood."

I softened at that, but still kept a look of seriousness due to my non-satisfaction. "You promise?"

He looked at me in wonder for moment before smiling and lifting my hand that he was holding on to. "I promise," he said, kissing lightly the top of it.

I smiled at that notion and tilted my head, causing my hair to fall behind my shoulders. His lips twitched slightly but remained as a smile before I looked ahead again.

And that's when I had the humiliation of smashing into a palm tree and almost breaking my nose. The moment I did that a burst of laughter boomed next to me and as I held my now painful nose.

I glared at Aaron. "Shut the fuck up," I growled. He continued laughing and I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the nearest bench as passing by-ers stared at us confused and sympathetically.

As soon as I found one I sat down to relax for a moment. That hurt like a bitch, I thought to myself painfully. I felt something slightly wet in my hand and when I removed my hand to see what it was I jumped in shock and surprise. On my hand was a shiny, red liquid substance that must have dripped out of my nose.

Blood. Oh God.

"Oh, well this is just fucking great; I have a nose bleed," I bitterly spat, trying to control my breathing. Aaron was by now holding his side next to me he was laughing so hard, so I guess he didn't hear me.

I glared at him and put my hand over my nose again. My heart rate was accelerating, and I needed to calm it down. "I'll be right back; I need tissues for my nose."

I got up to walk away and Aaron grabbed my arm. I turned to see tears in his eyes, "Ah ha, I'm sorry it's just… It was so unexpected," he chuckled.

I glared at him. "Yeah, I know. But in case you didn't hear me," I spat, knowing he didn't, "I have a fucking nose bleed, so if you'd excuse me-"

"Wait wait, what?" he stood up almost immediately. "Let me see."

I rolled my eyes. "It's fine."

"Just let me see."

Again, I rolled my eyes but removed my hand. I kept my eyes away from him and at a shop to my right as he tilted my chin upwards, causing the blood to trickle down slightly. I wondered what exactly there was to investigate about my nose bleed, but a touch on my nose suggested he wanted to see if my nose was broken. I closed my eyes and breathed in sharply at the touch, causing him to stop for a moment, but soon I realized it didn't really hurt; I just felt like it was supposed to. When he saw me relax and open my eyes, he touched my nose again. This time with no reaction, he concluded:

"Nope, not broken; you just popped a vein it looks like." He gently let go of my chin and I looked at him again. I wasn't expecting his face to be inches away from mine. Surprised, and slightly embarrassed, I looked away and took a step back, realizing I was blushing.

"Well… That's good," I said, holding my hand up to my nose.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into small hug. "Let's just go and find a bathroom, shall we?" he asked. Without hesitation I nodded as he steered me towards the nearest bathroom. However, I realized he took us to a unisex one.

"Um, what is this?" I asked suspiciously. When I looked at him he blushed, looking away.

"I… Just want to help… And I can't walk into the ladies room… So…" His blush deepened into a tomato color painted on his nose and cheeks; he really does look adorable when he's blushing…

I sighed, "Alright, but we're leaving the door open, ok?"

I'm way too soft, I thought to myself bitterly as he nodded enthusiastically. We walked in and I could feel everyone's eyes on me at that moment. Trying to shake it off, I tipped my head upwards as he grabbed a paper towel (ew) dipped in the mall water (ew ew ew) and dabbed my nose to my chin (ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew).

I tried ignoring the fact that we're in an unsanitary, unisex mall bathroom which, by the way, x-number of couples have most likely had sex in using a probably unclean paper towel that has been dipped in unsanitary chlorine mall water to wipe my healthy, sort of clean face with to get all the blood off of my bloody nose and chin; and now thinking about it if I have a bloody nose does that mean that it's possible for bacteria to enter my body through my nose? It isn't really a wound but is it possible? What about a virus? Can they get in? Well, I'm sure they kind of can in some sort of way… But if they do, wouldn't that mean I'd get sick?

Wait… What if I get Ebola? Oh God! Oh no! I can't get that! I'm too young to die! No! I can't let this happen! I've got to do something! AGH! What AM I doing? Letting Aaron use this unsanitary, disgusting, brown, paper, grainy makeshift of a towel dipped in even worse chlorinated, moldy, probably saliva-fied water to put on my beautiful, healthy, glowy, sort of clean, wonderful face? NO! I won't let this happen! I must escape this hell hole of a bathroom! I must! I-

"Ok, I think you're all good now," Andie said with a slight smirk of amusement.

I blinked. "Wha-what? You're done already? How? Wha-"

He chuckled. "While you were probably thinking of how gross or how wrong and perverted this is, I cleaned up the mess you had on your face. You were thinking for quite a while, and the looks you were making were pretty priceless I've got to say; I should bring you to public unisex bathrooms more often."

I stared at him for a good 30 seconds, thinking of some witty comment to snap back at him with. When I couldn't find one, I stormed out of the unisex bathroom red faced with Aaron laughing like a hyena behind me.

"That boy is gonna get it for sure now," I thought angrily out loud to myself (the type of angry of which one isn't really pissed off per say but actually annoyed -angry, yet playful at the same time).

"Aww, come on!" I heard Aaron cry- yell, sorry. I forgot men don't 'cry' according to Andie… "You know I didn't mean it, Audrey."

I smirked mischievously as I walked a little faster.

"Audrey!"

I was nearly tripping myself I walked so fast.

"Baby!"

I giggled as he attempted to coo me by calling me by a pet name he'd never called me before. I heard nothing for a short while, getting suspicious as I turned around to only face Aaron nearly crashing into me. He literally ran to catch up to me and I laughed as he fell face down, eating it badly.

See, with my mad skills, I was able to avoid physical contact and I moved out in time to not be crushed by Aaron. I laughed at both my luck and the fact that karma got him back hard. Of course I felt guilty, too, but I was mostly very amused.

I knelt down on one knee next to Aaron while clutching my stomach, "Aww, Aaron! Karma got you sooo bad!" I heard no response as I continued laughing. After a minute, my laughing resided and I nudged him. "Aaron?"

No movement.

I had stopped laughing by then, and my smile was slowly disappearing.

"… Aaron…?"

I yelped high pitched as he grabbed for my wrist in such a fast motion, I actually thought he was a zombie.

As I was recovering a booming laughter came from Aaron's body as he went to turn himself to his side. His face was red from laughter, and his elbows and hands were red from falling onto the tiles.

I frowned at him. To think I was actually starting to get worried…

"Ah ha, I'm sorry, Aud… I couldn't help myself. Karma's a bitch though ain't it? Ha ha ha, I can't believe you actually got worried about me- OUCH!"

I pinched his arm and I smirked at his reaction. "Whoops, my bad." I started to stand up, "Guess karma got you back again."

Aaron frowned at me and gave me a look one would give if they were a child not getting the ice cream they wanted. "You're mean…"

I smiled and held my hand out. "If I was, I wouldn't be helping you now would I?"

He stared at my hand for a second, then back at me. After short moment, he smiled and lightly put his hand on mine, getting himself up with no help from me. "True enough. One of the only reasons' why I'm dating you."

I smiled, "That so?"

Smirking, he held my hand. "The honest truth," he rose my hand to his lips and kissed it, causing me to blush but not look away like all the times before.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I'm not sure what time we left the mall after getting a to-go dinner at Johnny Rocket's, nor what time we arrived at Biscayne Beach, however I did know that the sunset on the beach was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life. I've gone to the beach plenty of times before but never, ever had I seen it like this.

The orange, red, and yellow beams of the setting sun cast a romantic glow that reached out across the ocean and onto the beach. The water was a deep, dark color that with the reflection of the suns' glow, it gave the only brightness to its depression. As the water gently heaved itself onto the beach, the sand glowed that same brightness; what was before a white-grey color became one of a peachy pink that mixed with both the water and the grass and anyone and anything on and in the water. When the water drew itself back, the pinkness faded ever so slightly into a deeper, richer color until the water returned again. The clouds were pinkish red as it covered what was left of the sun, wrapping it with gentle good-byes. Altogether the scene was absolutely beautiful, a gaping sight of which one can find no better words to describe such a beautiful sight. It was peaceful, so ever tranquil that even the crickets were silent except for that soft roar of the ocean waves.

As I breathed in the salty air and gazed at the setting sun, myself being in Aaron's arms, I was for once completely content. I wasn't thinking of anything I had to do, or when I had to be home, only, 'Wow, that is just… Absolutely… Just…'

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I heard Aaron breathe, his voice vibrating in his chest.

I nodded against his shoulder, shifting more into the crook of his neck. I felt like I should be wearing a white, flow-y dress that moved in slow motion like in those romance movies with Aaron wearing a white shirt/blouse and white trousers. Actually, this looks more like an English classic than anything, now that I think about it…

What ruined the moment was Aaron's stomach growling.

When I heard the sound, I started laughing while he was trying to turn away from me, I'm guessing from blushing. Before he could turn completely away from me, though, I wrapped my hand around his neck to the back of his head and pulled him towards me. He didn't fight me and looked at me with an embarrassed countenance.

I giggled before doing the lame action of rubbing my nose softly against his; I honestly hated that notion, in fact it made me want to puke, but for some reason he liked it when I did those kinds of sick, stupid, romantic things. Ugh, he makes me become such a romantic at times, I swear… And maybe I do secretly like it, too, but I'd never admit to it.

"Usually I'm the one who ruin moments, not you," I chuckled. He blushed again but didn't look away, giving me a small smile. "I guess that's something different for a change." I nodded slightly while I smiled wider, looking down from his eyes to his lips. He smirked at my want of action and leaned in to kiss me.

Even after the countless times we've kissed, I cannot help but think how great of a kisser Aaron is. It always stupefies me, almost making me not move against him. Almost. I let myself move in the rhythm of his lips, being conscious of our hands gliding over each other. I've gotten used to that sort of affection by now, as long as it didn't go too far. A few times I've had to grab his hands and place them elsewhere, but it's only a few.

I bit softly on his lower lip and tugged, hoping to ease him of the inner struggle he's been having since the day of the incident.

Ever since our first make-out session, the day that Ambrose unexpectedly came over, which was roughly a week and a half ago, Aaron hasn't wanted to go to that limit, meaning he hasn't been wanting to French kiss, or even nibble. I've tried to a number of times to get back that same passionate, affectionate feeling he had that day, but with no avail; I'm guessing his father seeing us make out like that scarred him or something.

But today, I was hoping to change that.

Since we had planned this day, I was thinking of how and when I could possibly go and get that feeling back from him. I was afraid at times of how he might react, the imagination of my mind making scenes of different reactions from him, but eventually my courage and pride took over and gave me a new strength to ignore all of those negative thoughts.

Now, I drew myself back to open my eyes and look at him, not being able to help myself from giving a nearly desperate look. Aaron opened his eyes slowly back at me, his eyes displaying nothing but blankness. I already knew his answer before he said anything.

"Audrey…" he started.

I shook my head and leaned my head against his chest so he wouldn't see how much agony I was in and how annoyed I was. "It's fine."

I know it seems ridiculous to be acting this childish, and I'm even ashamed of myself for being like this, but I haven't felt the same feelings from him since then. I've only felt indifference, sometimes annoyance, but never that passionate, almost lustful emotion, which is driving me insane. Why was it, at that moment, after the car had hit me, that he felt that for me? It makes no sense! Do I have to get hit by another car to get that same feeling back? Do I have to fall off a cliff or something? Or was it that he was turned on because I saved a dog? But, that makes even less sense… Well, he does have a love for canines but still, that's beside the point-

I felt Aaron roughly yet gently pull himself away from me and prop himself on one elbow as he lifted my face towards him. His eyes were glazed with a similar passion they had a week or so past but not the same one, for his eyes had sadness and guilt encrypted in them.

"Audrey," he started again, "it's got nothing to do with you, alright? I just feel that we took a step further than we should have and I feel awful about it. I want to kiss you like that again - believe me I do - but I'd feel like I'm going against myself if I do so; more importantly, that I'd hurt you by accident and that would certainly pain me… Do you get what I mean?"

Trying to soak in his words, I nodded slowly but not in full understanding. I knew he wasn't a very religious person, in fact he even told me that he's starting to become Atheist due to his constant questioning of God, so why would he feel like this?

Maybe it isn't religious, maybe it's just his personal beliefs, the small voice in my head told me. Yeah, but if so…

Aaron's countenance seemed to melt into pitiness, and I gave him a small smile. His eyes searched mine for a long while, and his lips parted slightly as he looked down in longing. I blushed softly but I continued staring at him, trying to figure out this man in front of me.

Then, out of the blue, I felt and saw lust on his countenance as he leaned into me hastily for a kiss, which I responded to with barely hesitation. Barely because I was still thinking of what he said…

…

…

… Well, forget all that crap he said before; he was obviously bluffing for the most part. The damn liar was making out properly with me without any hints of hesitation or regret, which I obliged to as quickly as he started it.

I wrapped an arm around his neck as he moved his hand from my chin to the nape of my neck. As the kiss deepened he pulled me more towards him so that he was on his back again and I was on top of him, now two of my arms around his head and one of his arms around my waist while the other hand was entangled in my hair. I moved cautiously so that I wouldn't hurt him in anyway, meaning I was basically straddling him with one leg bent, next to his side, and the other leg holding myself partially up so I wouldn't crush him with my weight. (Not that I can, but still…) One of his legs I felt was bent and the other was straight, thus why I was semi-straddling him and maybe why I was slightly turned on.

I don't know for how long we went on, or how we didn't take our clothes off (thankfully we didn't), but by the time we pulled away out of breath, the sun was nearly gone, a shimmer of red light only left in the pink, purple, and black-blue sky. I opened my eyes slowly, feeling lust-drunk but also passionate and the same lustfulness from him that I was feeling.

We gazed into each other eyes for a small while, one of my hands now entangled in his hair while the other was simply wrapped around his head and, now that I am more conscious now, one of his hands was on my bum while the other was caressing my hair that was falling in front of my face. Again, I'm not sure how long we stayed like this, but the silence was eventually broken.

"I think," Aaron gasped, keeping a strong look of passion, lust, and affection, the exact if not stronger look he gave me before, "that I love you, Audrey Steinbach."

… Holy fuck, did not expect that one.

I blinked multiple times shocked, still trying to think past my lust-drunken state (if there is such a state of manner). I let the words sink in slowly, the more important words 'think' and 'love' never leaving my mind. After realizing completely what he meant by those words, I widened my eyes very slightly, not knowing how to respond to that. 'Do I feel the same way about him?' was the first question that appeared to mind, but I for some reason could not find the answer.

I could feel panic slowly rising within me, and I knew that it wasn't my own. Aaron, realizing what he said without thinking, (I was able to tell that he was saying what came to mind first in his lust-drunken state) had stopped breathing for a moment and held his breath, then swallowing probably his spit and looking up at me more apprehensively, waiting for my answer.

I've had a lot of difficult questions asked to me before, some that I couldn't answer and others that I did and got either right or wrong, but never one that was in this form and dealing with my emotions and feelings for another person. Did I truly love Aaron? Of course, the first answer that comes in mind is 'No' but then 'I don't know' replaces that because I have been feeling differently since I've met him. I mean, he's on my mind everyday but not all the time, but he makes me feel so superior and loved…

Loved? Did I really just think that?

Maybe…

I don't know…

I thought of all the romance novels I read, including the one I finished recently for English. Most couples understand each other perfectly; they're two peas in a pod, two puzzle pieces that fit, the 'I' and 'you' in 'I love you'…

Are we like that? Do I understand him so well that I can finish his sentences or know what he's going to say next?

As I thought about it… I realized that I didn't. A lot of times, I didn't understand him, and although he does make me feel… 'loved'… I don't think he knows me, either. I mean, he knows me somewhat so that we get along, and we have similar personalities and we think nearly the same way, not to mention we have a lot of interests in common, but other than that…

I knew what I was going to say was probably going to hurt him, but I had to let him know the truth.

I took a deep breath, and while letting it out slowly, I spoke. "I don't know if I feel the same way that you do for me… However," I snuggled in closer to Aaron and rested my poor knee that was now killing me from kneeling and holding my weight for so long, "this doesn't mean I don't have any feelings towards you. At the moment, I just really like you, and I know that we can maybe make something grow from there." I gave him a small smile for reassurance. "It's just a little too soon for me."

I felt pain as his face turned solemn and grim, both from him and the pang of guilt in my chest, but he dropped it quickly with a fake smile, "I was expecting an answer like that… At least you like me a lot."

I chuckled with him, "Yeah, it would be a little more than awkward if I didn't."

He chuckled again and looked up at me with appreciation and sadness, craning his neck to kiss me again. I wasn't sure if I should comply, but I realized that I couldn't make my body say no and I closed my eyes again, moving my lips along with his rhythm.

I felt a change of scenery then, a change of wind direction or, just something different. It didn't feel the same… Something has changed, I felt like I was somewhere different. I opened my eyes to see myself in front of my house with a woman with familiar white blonde hair and very retro 80's clothing smiling very creepily at me, with blood dripping from her lips and her eyes very dark with hunger; I was able to feel the lust radiating from her and I became very, very scared, to the point that I was about to piss myself. The woman was holding someone to her, no, some_thing_ to her, and I realized that it was a passed out man covered in blood. The woman mouthed two words to me: You're next.

I closed my eyes again and screamed, trying to get the image of the woman out of my head, hoping that she would go away, that she wouldn't chase me or try to kill me or anything like that, that she wouldn't rape me or molest me or-

I opened my eyes abruptly and pulled myself away from whoever was holding me and crawled away as far as I could before I felt something wrap itself around my legs. Looking down, I realized it was red. Red… Oh no. Oh no oh no- Panicking, I tried to tug off whatever it was preventing me from getting away and ended up getting even more caught up in it. Oh God, that guys blood, and that woman- I need to get out of here, I need to get away from this, this thing trapping me here and the sand-

Wait, sand…

I felt a hand touch my foot that was exposed and I screamed, trying to get away from it but getting even more entangled. The person moved their hand from my foot to my waist and pulled me towards them, making me squirm even more to get out of their grip.

"Audrey! Audrey, it's me! Aaron! Audrey!"

I stopped squirming but screamed louder to get attention. They firmly grabbed my face with both hands and forced me to look at them, and I was able to see that it was in fact Aaron, looking surprised, concerned, and apprehensive.

I stopped screaming then, tears I hadn't noticed before running down my face as I starred frightened but relieved at him as I remembered what had just happened moments ago, and as I realized that the woman I saw was just an image that my mind had made - or found. Where did it come from? Did it come from one of my nightmares? I never relived my nightmares while being awake, though. Despite these questions, at the moment, I didn't care.

I wrapped myself around Aaron and sobbed into his chest as I felt his confusion, his worry for me, shock, probably from my random behavior, and his fear grow. After a second he cupped the back of my head with one hand and pulled me closer to him by tightening his arm around my waist so that my entire body was pressed against him, whispering comforting shushes and words into my hair to affirm that he was there, all was fine, nothing was going to happen to me, and, more importantly, that I was safe. It felt like déjà vu, this kind of kindness towards me, but I welcomed the comfort warmly.

I finally opened my eyes when my sobs turned into soft hiccups and quick breaths. I looked up at Aaron, who I only saw because of the half crescent moon that shone down on us in the pale, white light. His eyes were shadowed, but I was still able to see his worry in his facial features. I wasn't sure what to say, if I should say why I had acted this way, if I should apologize… I never acted like this in front of him, or anyone other than Andie before. I knew what to say to Andie, but to anyone else, especially Aaron…

He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, brushing his fingers against my cheeks as he did so, and gave me a small smile. "You don't need to say anything, love. It's all alright now; no words need to be passed. You can explain later."

I stared at him, astonished of how well he did know me and relieved that I didn't have to say anything. I teared up again, thankful that he understood me and wasn't making me say or do anything I didn't want to do. "Thank you," I whispered.

He breathed out a chuck and with his thumb wiped the tears away from my eyes. "Didn't I say you didn't have to say anything? Oh, love…"

I smiled and chuckled, too, grateful for having someone like him to be my boyfriend and someone that can understand me and make me laugh. I tightened my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder, since we were sitting up in the sand. His hand moved from my face to the back of my head again, softly stroking my hair in rhythm.

I felt completely safe, having his arms around me in a tight yet gentle embrace, and I knew, I just _knew_, that he would never let anyone do anything to me, or have anything happen to me. I also realized something else, something that shocked me: I trusted him. I don't trust a lot of people, due to my trust issues, but I felt comfortable with him, and I knew him well enough that I could feel safe around him, thus trust him.

I may not love him (yet), but trusting him was definitely a start.

I had a sudden urge to let Aaron know of this new epiphany I had, but before I could say anything he swiftly picked me up bridal style and stood up.

I blinked surprised at him, "Wh-where are we going?" I asked softly before hiccuping quietly.

He smiled at me as he started walking away from the shore and towards the high grass that was behind us. "Where do you think? Home; it's getting late, half past seven," he answered, killing two birds with one stone by answering the question I had asked and answering the question I was about to ask. I closed my mouth after opening it to ask the question he had already answered and nodded.

Something I realized as we- well, he carrying me- walked to the car was that he was a smooth walker. Most people when they walk have an up and down rhythm that makes me sick to my stomach when they carry me but Aaron didn't have that. It was as if he were gliding through the air rather than walking, which I greatly liked. With every little thing I was learning about him, I found, I was liking him more and more.

He, while still carrying me, dug into my pocket to find my keys and unlocked my car, putting me in the passenger side without a word. I didn't argue with him, even though it was _my_ car and _I_ should be the one driving it, but I felt out of it and honestly didn't want to start anything, so I let him drive my Altima after he wrapped up our blanket and brought our untouched food with us.

The car ride was silent on the way back home, one that I welcomed openly due to my buzzing mind. All thoughts were wrapped around what I saw, or rather what I thought I saw, at my house (I'm pretty sure it was) with the 80's woman and her creepy smile. I couldn't believe a thought like that could traumatize me like that, let alone scare me into a state of uselessness and not being able to control my actions. Either this was an image/memory that had happened or was going to happen to me or someone else. But, I've never seen her in my life, so why would she pop up now? This had to be in the near or far future, and from some nightmare I couldn't remember.

The image of her came back to mind and I shivered as the picture of blood dripping down her lips was accentuated. I was actually surprised I didn't faint when I first saw that type of day dream, (I officially decided to call this scenario 'day dreams' since I usually had these when I was asleep and I was wide awake when I had this come to mind) and that I had seen one at all; like I thought earlier, nothing like this had ever happened to me, especially at a random moment like kissing my boyfriend.

I felt a hand on my thigh and I turned my head from the window to Aaron, who probably saw me shiver in his peripheral vision as he kept his eyes on the road ahead of him. I blinked indifferent at him, keeping a blank look, then looked down to his hand and wrapped one of my own hands that were kept on my lap around his. I looked up with my eyes in time to see him give a small smile and he squeezed my hand softly before the small smile faded slightly. I gave a small smile in return and turned to look back outside, which I couldn't see due to the darkness. One thing I didn't like about some of the outskirts in Miami and my neighborhood was that there were trees with thick branches and leaves intertwining together to block the sky, making the streets always dark and shadowy no matter what time of day it was.

I blinked and saw a dark figure next to the car. I blinked again surprised and the figure was still there despite the car being in motion. I squeezed my eyes shut, rubbing my eyes, then opened them again, expecting to still see it there, and saw that it was gone. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and frowned, almost glaring at the window to figure out if what I saw was actually there or if perhaps I was just going crazy. I sighed as I settled on that I was just being paranoid again and leaned against the back of seat, closing my eyes.

* * *

**_A/N: Sorry for it being a little late... I had a lot of editing to do... Well! I got you a nice, juicy chapter! So don't complain, haha! (Not that you guys were already, but I'm just saying... :P ) I wanted to thank really quick DangerouseLove because I thanked Cherry On Top and Paranormal but not Dangerouse, so yeah: Thank you! :DD I would still like to know if I should change the rating or not. I mean, what I'm typing here is probably being skipped and not read (I tend to do that a lot, too, sometimes... SHAME! "x. ) but still, I would appreciate it greatly! :D Okie! Enjoy your weekend! And happy reading! :) ~_**

**_A/N Update: Like I said the other chapter, don't worry about it. Just tell me your thoughts. Many thanks. ~_**


	15. CHAPT14: My Boyfriends A Notebook Napper

**CHAPTER 14: My Boyfriends A Notebook-Napper**

I felt my stomach drop harshly as I watched in consternation the film in front of me, which was currently showing a massacre of bottled-nose dolphins who were unable to fight back due to being trapped in shallow water and nets surrounding them, making them stay in that area. I gasped at the men in the film, who were thrusting them at the poor beings, making sure they stay where they want them to be. I was upset in more than one way at this, and bit back tears that were wanting to form.

I felt not-so-comforting pats on my right shoulder from Andie, who was rolling his eyes and staring boringly at the film when I turned to see him, and I glared. Honestly, my brother can be very comforting when he wants to be (when I wake up from a nightmare, when I'm stressed from school work, when I upset and lonely) but there were other times, like these, where he was insensitive. I swear a rock has more of a heart than Andie does during these situations.

I heard a soft chuckle from my left side as Aaron squeezed my hand softly, pulling our hands upward from his lap and I looked in time to see him kiss my hand softly while watching me adoringly at the same time. I blushed slightly and gave a small smile, feeling more comfort from my boyfriend than from my more-heartless-than-a-rock brother.

Andie must have seen that because within seconds of Aaron's action I felt slight anger and Andie tugged me into a tight embrace, however not tight enough for me to let go of Aaron. I squeaked at the sudden action and looked at Aaron like a rabbit would if they were suddenly grabbed out of nowhere, which I was. Blinking rapidly, I tried to get a hold of what just happened and was happening.

I felt a spark of annoyance as Aaron leaned forward to kiss me on the forehead, glaring at Andie the entire time with amusement.

I took it that Andie's reaction was funny to him because then Andie forced me to face him and look over his shoulder while 'rubbing' my back, which was actually angrily smacking and then harshly pressing down my back. In slight pain, I tried to squirm away from him which I was unsuccessful in doing.

I heard the slight scrap of a stool moving against the tile floor, causing me to wince at the sound. The next second I saw Aaron's face in front of my own, smirking with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. By this point, my look of puzzlement went from being just confused to becoming also annoyed. He grinned wider and softened his gaze at my countenance then leaned in to give me a kiss on my lips.

Only, he didn't get to because Andie roughly pulled me back before he was even a breath length away from me. I felt even more anger and annoyance from both my brother and my boyfriend, and Aaron glared at Andie intently as he tried to pry me out of his arms. Andie glared daggers at him as he held me even closer to him, causing me to have trouble breathing. Obviously, they couldn't see that because they continued the tug-of-war while snarling at each other.

I looked up at the ceiling desperately and I finally saw what was happening: They were fighting over me for who could comfort me the most. Oh God, could they get even more stupid? Do they really see this as a contest? Why do all men seem to participate in these sorts of things? Well, one thing that can be said from all this is how much they both FAIL at this.

I stood up then before either children could do anything and I forced myself out of Andie's constricting arms, (which was easier than I thought it'd be) picked up my bag/purse and books, and moved to a different table fuming only a little bit, which was on the other side of the room but parallel to our table. I sat down on a stool there and put my stuff down before turning to the boys and glaring at their immaturity. Both looked dumbstruck and confused, almost making me laugh. But I didn't, because it would ruin the effect of my annoyance towards them.

I turned back to the table, which consisted of 4 other students in my grade. I knew all of them naturally, since they are in my AP Environmental class, however I didn't really talk to them much. Thankfully, though, they were all too absorbed in the film to notice me. I wondered if the massacre was still going on in the film and saw that yes it was, causing my heart to hurt again and to bite my lower lip.

The film is called 'The Cove' and it's about how the wild pods of bottle-nosed dolphins are being abused because of how they are tricked into going to a feeding ground where there's shallow water and nets put up to trap them, forcing them to get separated by the standards that the dolphin looks young but old enough to be trained, healthy, and don't try to escape. The ones who aren't in all 3 categories are then killed brutally in another cove, thus why it's called 'The Cove'. The dolphins that fit all 3 categories are then shipped to all over the world to be put in sea aquarium parks.

The film, which is a documentary, is hosted by the actual trainer of Flipper who was attached to the dolphin. When Flipper committed suicide due to the conditions he was in at a sea aquarium park, (not because of his owner/trainer) he felt terrible and fell into a deep depression, where he found out about other dolphins being abused in the cove. He tried getting the public aware about the dolphin abuse, but no one cared enough to fight with him. His love for dolphins got him sent to jail 3 times after setting a few dolphins free from their exhibits and into the wild.

To be completely honest, this guy is my hero, next to Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin (may Steve rest in peace). I was glad that he was able to record everything on video and audio (though the audio may have been a bit too much) the massacre of these innocent dolphins so that he could show the public what was being done to these magnificent creatures. I'm just sad that the poor creatures had to suffer so much before finally being saved.

I checked the clock that was above the projector screen that was featuring the film and saw that it was only a few minutes before class ended. I began gathering my things together and checking that I had everything that I needed. As I looked through my bag, I went to search for my APES (again, the acronym for this particular class) notebook and frowned when I couldn't find it. My frown deepened as I searched through it again. And again. And again…

I started to panic when I realized it wasn't in my bag. Where the hell could it be? I thought to myself frantically. I looked on the table and saw it wasn't there, then around my stool and under both my stool and table and saw it wasn't there, either. Now breathing shallow breaths, I thought hard of where it could be.

And then it hit me.

I turned slowly towards the table my boyfriend and brother were at and, sure enough, there was Aaron, watching me amused while fanning himself with _my_ notebook. I drew my lips to a very thin line and glowered at the fact that I was stupid enough to panic for something I should have thought about first and allow Aaron to basically mock me while watching me nearly get a heart attack. That boy is truly something else…

My eyes darted towards the clock that was on the left side of me and saw that it was now a minute before class ended. He was still smirking at me, knowing probably that he was pissing me off and that he was going to get it when the bell rang or when we were alone. Or both. That last minute was agonizing as I glared at him, completely ignoring my brothers' confused look.

Then, it rang, and I leaped out of my stool to claim back my property. Aaron was just as quick though, and he jumped off the stool, over his table, grabbing his bag with him as he leapt, and ran out the door, smiling mischievously like an idiot that figured out how to solve an addition problem for the first time.

Just because he was closer to the door didn't mean I didn't get there at the same exact time though. In fact, I was out the door a good half a second to a second after Aaron went through. I kept up with him for a good while, to the point I was an arms length away, but as the hallways started to get crowded with students it started getting harder for me to catch him. Finally slowing down after about thirty seconds, I jumped to get a better view of where Aaron was and saw that he wasn't in this hallway. God damn it, he probably went a different route! I thought angrily. Scowling and panting, I stalked away from my spot in the middle of the hallway and began walking to my last and final class, thinking about how I needed to start working out more and if this was going to affect my singing in Chorus.

I am not the greatest singer in the world, however I can at least sing on pitch and sight read, which is why I'm in the schools choir. See, there are such a small number of people who actually are 'musically gifted' in this school that my chorus teacher, or conductor if people want to get specific and anal, is desperate and willing enough to accept anyone who can sing on pitch and sound ok.

Originally, I wasn't going to join because I thought it was stupid. But of course Kylie, who is a magnificent pianist, convinced me when someone saw her play at one of her performances and suggested she go join a band of some sort. She, being musically talented, immediately accepted this and saw in her hunt for bands that our school had a chorus that needed a pianist. Of course, she didn't want to join alone. Of course…

I don't regret it, though. Chorus is actually fun, and some of the people in there are really cool and very random, including the band people. And by random, I mean like the time that the band people built a giant spider web in the chorus room made up of rope and cloths wrapped around chairs in the room, using a giant fake spider to put on top of the web. Out of all the things I've seen, that was the most epic.

I sighed as I entered the Music Wing and felt myself out of place; I always did when I entered in here. Even though there were people who were awesome, there were still the other band and chorus members who looked down on people who weren't that musically talented. It's because of them I always feel like I'm invading their space by even breathing in the Music Wing. A guy near his locker looked up at me from his instrument, which was a French horn, and grimaced at me. I looked down right then, avoiding his hateful gaze as I kept walking down the familiar hallway until I reached a door that was to my right saying: CHORUS ROOM.

How creative. I sighed for the umpth time this year and pushed the door open, the sounds of a piano and voices already filling my ears.

My chorus teacher isn't skinny, nor is he obese. He's well rounded at his belly and waist but still manages to look great in a suit. His face is even oval shaped with hair and a countenance similar to Christians' in _Moulin Rouge!,_ only without the mole and with greener eyes. He has the voice of a dozen angels and works two jobs to keep a roof over his and his wife's head; one as a chorus teacher and the other as a tenor in a chorus at his church. He really is a great person, both in that he is considerate of other people and very kind while still being witty and funny. He has a very dry sense of humor filled with lots of sarcasm, making him one of my favorite people to talk to, and he's very talented, as well. And I don't mean Miley Cyrus talented. I mean he can play the piano, sing pop, country, opera, tenor, bass, alto, soprano, and conduct flawlessly.

If there was anything that nagged me about him was the fact that he was _too_ nice. A lot of students use him to get out of other classes and to not have to do anything while in chorus.

It's this that pisses me off about him. And it's because of this he's made me Chorus Vice President. Why? Because, unlike him, I have balls and a spiny backbone that would make students quiver in fear. (And I'm a junior and only the seniors get the title of President.) I'm nice, too, but not like him. I'm a vicious bitch when I want to be.

Thinking how I was Vice President, I put on my boss face which consisted a scowl and a mean glare that didn't forgive anyone or thing.

Except Kylie.

Because she's the pianist.

Yeah, that's the reason…

Ahem, anyway.

The first kid who looked at me was a freshman who thought it was ok to not only take out a lighter but to smoke a cigarette in the classroom. Oh, is _HE_ mistaken…

I narrowed my glare as he choked on it and struggled to take it out of his mouth and hide it. Unfortunately for him, I already saw it.

The moment it was seen I stormed over to the kid and swiped the poorly hidden cigarette from his hands. "What the FUCK is this?" I asked ruthlessly.

The kid, who I remembered was a freshman in the tenor section and called himself Jorge, shook nervously as he tried to find the words to get himself out of trouble. "U-uh, a-a, u-um…"

I sneered, "A WHAT? Please, ENLIGHTEN ME." The kid shook softly now and he looked at his shoes, which were black Pumas.

He mumbled something.

"I can't hear you," I growled.

He winced at my tone of voice and stammered, "A smoke…"

I threw those words around in my head, wondering if I should consider 'a smoke' to be the same as 'a cigarette' right now.

I decided I'd be nice and just consider it after a second; I didn't want to lose my moment of authority where all the other kids were watching me cautiously and frightened, whispering among themselves.

"And why, the FUCKING HELL, is there a FUCKING SMOKE, IN THIS GOD DAMNED CLASSROOM?" I yelled, raising my voice and pausing after every other word.

In the corner of my eye I saw Kylie wince with a small, sympathetic smile upon her countenance at the piano. Normally, I'm the one who's sympathetic and feels bad for the kiddies but for fucking real, smoking on not just school property but also in an enclosed room where people really do need the air in the room to sing? He's lucky he doesn't get suspended and that he gets away with just a detention.

He was trembling uncontrollably now as he stumbled with his words to find a good excuse as to why he was smoking in the classroom. I breathed in through my nose and realized the cigarette was still lit and coughed, putting it out on a paper near me that didn't seem too important and making sure it didn't catch on fire (for lack of a better surface to put it out on, seeing as the floor was carpet).

"I'm waiting," I snarled, turning my attention back to the child.

He looked up at me regrettably and looked back down, his countenance being one of a rabbit facing a lion. "I… I… I-I…"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, tapping one of my feet impatiently while crossing my arms, leaning all of my weight onto one leg.

"I… I was… I…" His eyes moved around the room until it found something or someone and his eyes lit up. "He- he forced me to!"

He pointed to a multi-colored-headed kid who had green contacts over his probably brown ones who now looked pissed off rather than cautious, as he had been before. "Oh hell nah! I didn't force you shit! Da fuck you talkin' about, boy? You bettah get yo' hea' cleared!" he yelled, his slang getting the best of his accent and speech.

I rolled my eyes at his god awful grammar and turned my attention to the two children I had to keep watch as of now- the kid Jorge and the so-called bully of whom I shall call 'multi-colored kid'. "If that's so, why are you so defensive? Guilty consciences don't defend themselves as much as the innocent ones."

He stiffened as his angry eyes searched the room for some comeback, always returning to Jorge, who was still trembling terribly but with satisfaction and relief that washed the fear out of his countenance. "Well… Any man would be standin' up for d'emselves if d'ey was accused. What makes a man who did it and didn't do it so diff'ent? Notin'. So why you callin' me guilty?"

Well, at least he's somewhat smart; he's got a point… He also sort of got his sentences correct this time…

I looked at the dead cigarette that I was twirling between the tips of my fingers and felt my lips contort into a thin line in deep concentration. What to do, what to do… I furrowed my eyebrows at a sudden thought: Where's Mowry? I looked around the room for my chorus teacher and found that he wasn't in the room. Must be in his office, I thought to myself, but good to check with Kylie anyway.

"Hey, Kylie? Where's Mowry?" I switched my attention to her, causing Jorge to sigh in relief while multi-colored kid to gap in anger and frustration.

She jumped quietly at her name being called and answered, "Um, he's talking to the band teacher right now… He'll be back in here soon, though."

I knitted my eyebrows in thought. That's odd, she usually doesn't call him unless she's in a bitchy mood and decided to boss Mowry around or she actually needs to talk to him about the music wing. I hope it's the first one, despite how bad both are anyway.

Speaking of the devil, he walked in with a file of papers under one arm and his other hand running through his hair, stress and disappointment shown on his countenance.

Uh-oh. Not a good sign.

He sighed and looked up at the class lazily, one by one looking at each individual student from the fat-ass who eats all the time; to the group of girls chatting in the corner of the room, completely ignoring the world; to Kylie on the piano; to a couple of students 'studying' their music when they were really reading a book; to the couple making out in the other corner of the room to the point their clothes were about to rip off; to the 'musically gifted' students who really were practicing their music while glaring at the rest of us for being nosy while I was having my little discussion with the children; to, finally, Jorge, multi-colored kid, and me. He blinked bored, then sighed, "What happened now?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at my teacher and brought back a lock of hair that was dangling in front of my face to behind my shoulder and ear by making a tossing motion with my hand, which actually didn't work out as well as I thought it would because it came back into view soon after I did that. Deciding not to look like an idiot, I explained to him how I caught Jorge smoking in the classroom and how he blamed multi-colored kid for forcing him into it. Neither Jorge nor multi-colored kid seemed worried that they would get in trouble; in fact they started to have a heavy discussion that dealt with lots of whispering and harsh words. They shut up as soon as I glared at them.

He blinked indifferent again, and sighed once more, "Well, I guess detentions for both…"

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you actually going to have them serve it this time? Or are you going to call it off again? I'd gladly make sure they serve it if you like…" I turned my head towards the duo, smirking mischievously while keeping a sneer.

I heard Mowry sigh again after a slight pause, "Yeah, sure, whatever you want to do…"

My smirk grew wider, and the two looked at each other frightened, multi-colored kid looking scared for once.

After I looked at them and went to stand with the rest of the sopranos, I realized I actually raised an eyebrow successfully without failing and felt very pleased with myself. When I tried to do it again while we were going over music, however, I saw that I couldn't repeat my motion and sighed in defeat before going at it again throughout class.

While we were singing a hymn, and as I continued trying to raise that one eyebrow once again without success, Mr. Mowry stopped conducting and signaled Kylie to stop playing the piano. Even though I was paying more attention to my facial expression than the lesson, I was paying enough attention to know that he stopped randomly in the middle of the song.

I saw Mowry sigh and turn towards the door behind me and say, annoyed, "What do you want?"

I turned around from where I was standing in the semi-circle to see standing in the doorway with a pass around their neck- Aaron?

Surprised, I blinked a few times and tilted my head, wondering what he was doing in my chorus class. He kept his countenance as emotionless as possible as his scanned around the room until they met mine, which didn't take too long as I was the third person in the first row out of 32 kids and four rows, and he smirked mischievously.

Oh boy, that's not a good sign, I thought to myself as I scrunched up my eyebrows to give him a warning glare, not forgetting that he stole my innocent notebook from my grasp.

Amusement was shown clearly in his features as he looked at Mr. Mowry again, who was giving an exasperated sigh while looking at me and him suspiciously.

"I was wondering if I could give something to Audrey, sir. It's from the main office," Aaron said smoothly and effortlessly, as if he has been doing the same routine for months (which he has been, since he has office aid this period).

Mowry raised an eyebrow. God damn it, why can't _I_ do that? "Okay, go ahead. She's right there in the front row of the soprano section; not like you didn't know that, though, right?" he scoffed dryly and sarcastically.

Oh how much I wish all of my teachers were like him; I'd love all of my classes, including math.

Aaron nodded in his general direction and started walking towards me, a huge smirk on his face and a mischievous look to him. I looked at Kylie, who looked at me as soon as I did and shrugged before looking back at Aaron with a puzzled countenance.

I decided I wasn't going to look at him and that I would be difficult when he finally reached me and I crossed my arms, looking the other direction of where he was standing. "You better be here to apologize 'cause I am _not_ going to talk to you until you give me back my notebook," I said sternly. I couldn't help but smirk, however, as he lightly touched my elbow.

"I'm not here to apologize I'm here to give you what the main office wanted me to give you. I'm not that stupid to go into your chorus class when you're obviously mad at me."

My smirk disappeared as I growled in aggravation and annoyance at his amused, light-hearted tone. Why must he get under my skin like this? Is he wishing for a death sentence?

He must be. He caressed my elbow gently as I started seething, and I could practically feel him smirk, even though I wasn't facing him.

"Ok," I growled softly, "then what does the office have for me?"

Aaron let go of my elbow and stuck an envelope in front of my face. I blinked and leaned back at the sudden object in front of me but recovered quickly and returned the scowl back on my face as I snatched it out of his hands. Again, I could _feel_ the smirk on his face and feel his amusement radiating out of him- though I was pretty sure being amused was not an emotion. Odd…

I tucked the envelope under my arm and re-crossed my arms, keeping my face looking to my left instead of my right where Aaron was and 'hmph'ing.

"You're welcome," Aaron half sang and he kissed my cheek quickly before I turned myself to face him and bite him hissing. By the time I did this, however, he was already out of range, smirking with amusement shone on his face and in his eyes, and half running to the door. I growled again before looking back to Mowry, who was giving me a look that questioned my sanity and whether he should really mess with me.

"Just play the damn song," I murmured quietly to Mowry, and he shrugged it off in a moment and nodded for Kylie to continue, who was looking like she was trying to keep herself from laughing pathetically with her hand clamped to her mouth and her eyes squeezing shut, her upper body bouncing lightly at the quiet laughter she was trying to contain.

I looked at the rest of the class who were giving me mixed looks of being frightened and/or confused. "The fuck you're all looking at?" I snarled. "Get back to singing." They immediately obeyed (except for multi-colored kid, who looked at me a second longer before rolling his eyes and going back to sleep) and I decided to open my envelope. I looked at the front, which said:

_**To: Audrey Steinbeck**_

_**From: Franklin Senior High School Admin**_

_AKA Your boyfriend_

As I read this, I was suspicious and raised an eyebrow. The hell? Didn't he tell me that this was from the office? I sighed and flipped the envelope around to rip the flap part of it and reached inside to pull the letter out.

Except, there was no letter. In fact, there were index cards the size of the envelope inside and nothing else. My head tilted forward in exasperation and my eyebrows furrowed downward, and again I realized a moment too late that I once again raised an eyebrow and cursed quietly to myself in that I didn't realize it in time to cherish it. I sighed again as I looked through the index cards, which I rounded were about 10 more or less. I looked at the card in front and found nothing. I turned it to the back of the card- nothing. I put that card into the back and looked at the next one. Nothing. Looked at the back- nothing.

My eye twitched. Put the card to the back, next card: front- nothing, back- nothing. Frustrated I brought that card to the back and repeated the same motion for the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh card. Boiling with annoyance, I dropped the cards to my chair and huffed a heavy sigh. Why the hell would he give me an envelope with only index cards? He knows I have enough; is he trying to make it up for me by giving me cards? Well, that is _not_ going to work on me.

I shook my head with my arms crossed and looked at the cards on my chair again, and noticed that one of the cards was a neon yellow color. Curious, I carefully pulled only that card from the group of cards without disturbing the others much. I looked at the blank side of the card and saw a winky face. I gave a small frown and furrowed my eyebrows at the childishness of that then flipped the card over to read in Aaron's scrawny yet neat handwriting:

_If you wish to see your precious notebook again, you shall have dinner with my family Friday, tonight, at 7:30 PM. Be there... Or your notebook will be fed to Luna._

_- Aaron_

_P.S. You're adorable when you're mad._

I tried to fight it, but I ended up curling my lips into a toothy smile anyway and laughing softly to myself: Only he would find a way to threaten me with his dog eating my notebook and still make me laugh, despite the comment at the end of the note. However, by the smiley face at the blank side of the card, and knowing him pretty well, I could tell he means it with playfulness and not to ridicule me, though I do question at times. I stuck the card into my APES book for safe keeping and stuck the rest of the cards into the envelope again, realizing how much of a cheap-ass he is to use the schools supplies instead of his own.

I had an urge to turn around to see the door and I did, expecting to either see Aaron standing there or no one there. And I was right in both ways in some sense: There was no one in front of the door, but behind the door where the small window glass was was Aaron, grinning affectionately before saluting me and walking away.

I giggled to myself before turning back to the class, who were oblivious to everything that I had just gone through in the last moment, except for Kylie, who was giving me a half-smile-half-frown while looking exasperated and anxious, meaning I'd have to explain later. I rolled my eyes at this and opened my textbook to re-read the card. _'You shall have dinner with my family this Friday night at 7:30 PM'_…

Oh God, I'm going to meet his family; _his whole family._ They're nice, right? I mean, I met his dad and so-called brother already (I still don't think Joseph is really Aaron's brother unless he was adopted or just took in the looks of his mother instead of his father) and both were… Unique. Is his mom going to be the same way? Just as… Unique? Although, she is the woman of the family so she probably has to be the only sane one in the house. Wait, didn't Aaron mention one time about his sister? I looked upward for a moment to try and remember a time he talked about his family:

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

"_I've been wondering about something…"_

_Aaron looked up from the APES textbook we had been studying together from and gazed at me. He was at my house in the kitchen for a study group; originally my brother was going to be with us as well but he claimed he had a date with some chick. Honestly, I think mum had bribed him to leave Aaron and I alone for once instead of hovering over us like a UFO picking the right corn field to make crop circles. Of course, it didn't mean we were the only ones in the house (my father for once was with us for a short while) but we were left alone in the kitchen anyways._

"_What's on your mind?"_

_I blushed slightly at both the question I was going to give and for forgetting for a moment I had asked him a question and was in my thought again, which I started to realize was happening a lot lately._

_"Well… I've realized something," I said so softly, I doubted he could hear me if I could barely hear myself._

_"And what's that?" he replied, slight boredom entering his voice._

_"Well," I started, surprised he actually heard me, "You've always asked me about my family… And you've always come to my home… But…" I looked at him, curiousity getting the better of me and fueling my determination. "I've never heard much of your family… Nor of your home…"_

_Aaron stared at me for a moment, and not just the kind of staring that's just 'out there'; it was the kind where he seemed almost angry at the question and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair._

_"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," I blurted turning back to the textbook. "It's none of my business. I understand if you don't want to talk about it; my curiosity just gets the best of me someti-"_

_He pulled me softly from under my chin so that I was forced to look at him, but I kept my eyes on the textbook. "Audrey," he warned, and I took my time looking back at him, his violet eyes being the last ones I looked at._

_"My family… They're different, there's no other way of saying it. When the time comes and I feel that I can trust you more, you can come to my house, all right? Just right now… It's hectic. We're still unpacking boxes to show how crazy it's been," he chuckled softly. _"_The point is, I'll introduce you to my family soon enough, ok?"_

_I stared into his violet orbs a little longer before I nodded. __A thought entered my head and I smirked. "I wonder if they're as big of asses as you are; I wouldn't be surprised."_

_He smiled and laughed, letting go of my chin in the process. "Eh, my sis maybe, but the rest… Ah, well, you'll find out eventually," he smirked, winking at the end._

_I blushed a little, giving a small smile while scolding myself in my head that I blush too much and that I'll scare him away if I keep on doing that._

_Then he smirked out of nowhere and shook his head, bringing his hand to his cheek while drumming his pen with the rest of his fingers with the other._

_I furrowed my eyebrows at the sudden action then shrugged and looked back at the book. "So… Name three pollutants that one could find in their home."_

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

That's right… It's when we had that study group at my house- when was that? About a week and a half after our first date? Yeah, I think so… Otherwise, I would've known that his father is a creeper.

I shivered at the thought of his father; not that he was a bad man but he still was a big perverted, son-embarrassing man who was just… Creepy! I shivered again and shook my head. Anyway…

He did mention a sister at some point… So did that mean he had two siblings? But why doesn't he ever talk about them? Then again, he doesn't talk about his family at all, so why would he mention he has family?

I sighed and looked down, remembering I still had the card in my hand. I tucked it in my APES textbook and looked at the clock that was above Kylie's head, which read it was still seven minutes until the bell ring. In two minutes, I will have a five minute recess. Five minutes after that, my freedom will ring. I smiled when I remembered it was Friday, and in realizing that it was Friday, I was extremely excited to meet Aaron's entire family for the first time. I shivered in anticipation and looked at the television that was now on for the school afternoon news.

Tonight shall be an interesting one, I thought to myself, I have a feeling. Yes, interesting indeed…

* * *

**_A/N: Another chapter done! Whew! It's amazing what sleep deprivation can do to you; I was seriously inspired for more than half of this chapter because of that! Is that normal? Probably not. Hmm... Anywho! I hope you enjoyed it, thank you to those who reviewed or PMed me; you're all super kind! :"3 Aaaand lemme know if I should change the rating or not; I still haven't gotten anything about that... :/ Okie, that's about it, so ta-ta! ~_**

_**A/N Update: I know I usually only keep past author notes if I had commented on what a review said but I kept this one because I had forgotten how tired I was after writing this one up... Seriously, I was taking AP Biology at the time. That was a hard class. Plus the exam coming up at the time? Geebus, I'm surprised I survived that class. (I'm still surprised I'm surviving the classes I'm in now in college; they seriously do only get harder as you get older). Just let me know as usual your thoughts. Thank you. ~**_


	16. CHAPTER 15: What A Pleasant Dinner

**CHAPTER 15: What A Pleasant Dinner**

I drew in a breath as I picked out two dresses from my closet that I thought were the most decent and took them out by their hangers. One was a sleeveless black dress that had soft ruffles and was tight around the chest and waist and flowed outwards down to about an inch above the knees while the other had one inch sleeves with a square cut that showed my collar bone but covered my back and was straight down to about two inches above the knees and was black except for where the waist was, which was white.

"Ok, Andie," I said, hearing my voice bounce back at me due to the clothing blocking the projection of my voice, "which one should I wear?"

I spun around then, causing the dresses to swish before going back in place, and looked at Andie who was sitting at my desk with one hand supporting his head and giving a very sourly bored look.

He looked up from the spot on the wall he was staring at and lifted his head from his hand, blinking slowly. After a minute, he shrugged.

I gapped at him exasperated, my head drooping slightly, "What do you mean by that? You said you would help me!"

He rolled his eyes as his head rested back onto his hand. "Don't shriek at me… I never said I would help you. You told me you needed me then forced me to stay in your room and," he raised his free hand to show air quotes, "'help' you pick out clothes. There is a difference, you know."

I gave a loud throaty groan before stomping over to my bed and throwing myself onto it, dresses still in hand.

"I forgot to add that you also dragged me into your room before forcing me to stay," Andie added.

I gave a low growl as I closed my eyes.

I was going to have to go to Aaron's house tonight to meet his family in and hour and a half and Andie was being difficult. Normally, I would have Kylie help but she said she had too much work to do tonight to help me out. The only other person who I would ask for help from is Andie, who was being a total dick-wad.

I small smirk tugged at my lips as I thought that before disappearing again. Dick-wad. Ha ha.

I made sure to use the whiniest tone I had, "Why do you have to be so difficult? I only ask for this kind of help every once in a while and the one time I really need it you're being such a meanie pus."

I decided it was best not to call him what I thought if I wanted his help.

"A meanie pus…?"

I opened my eyes and attempted to give him a glare. "Don't make fun of me."

It was difficult to see him as it was painful to look so far down (since I was lying on my bed) but in my semi-peripheral vision I saw him roll his eyes. "I can do what I want; it's supposed to be a free country. And because of that, I am being difficult because I can."

I rolled my eyes and again glared at him before blinking slowly in my slight eye pain before sighing and giving into what my eyes wanted most: Comfort. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to go away before realizing I couldn't open my eyes; I've had a lot of school work lately and I've been forced to stay up until 1 AM or sometimes, like last night, until 3. I hadn't realized that I was really tired until this moment… This bed feels so good right now…

"Audrey…?"

Go away, I'm relaxing for once…

"Audrey."

So comfy…

"Audrey…"

Did you not hear me? I said go away.

"Audrey…"

Why is he lengthening my name? I don't have that many 'u's. Shut. Up. I'm trying to sleep…

"Audrey…"

Ugh, he should really stop making my name sound like it has a thousand 'u's in it… Ah, sleep… Sounds… So… Nice…

I felt nothing beneath me as I felt myself fly upward and my heart and stomach switched places and my eyes snapped open. I landed on my bed again with a small scream and huffing from the sudden adrenaline of falling, trying to catch my breath and slow my heart rate by clutching my chest, the dresses no longer in my hands.

As I looked frightened around the room with wide eyes, I finally rested at the sight of Andie sitting down on my bed Indian style next to me, my sheets looking messy instead of neat. (By neat, I mean the covers sloppily pulled over my pillow to make it seem half decent.) He had an amused look to him, and I had a feeling I was scared shitless thanks to him. After registering that, I narrowed my eyes into a hateful glare and tightened my lips into a straight line. He was going to get it this time, the bastard.

Andie gave a bored, amused look as he blinked, "If you don't remember, you have to attend a family dinner at your _boyfriend's_ house in an hour and a half." He said 'boyfriend' slowly with a slight sneer, obviously showing his dislike for him. I nearly rolled my eyes at him for using that tone but groaned instead, being reminded that he was right; I can't go asleep now. I have things to do, events to attend… Parents to meet…

I slammed my head against my bed again, groaning into the sheets and covers.

"Groaning isn't going to do you good, you know. He's coming in an hour or so. Get yourself ready, even if you're tired."

I glared behind my closed eyes at Andie's command.

"I mean it, come on. I've got shit to do, too, you know…"

I rolled my eyes behind my closed eyes before sitting myself back up and sighing.

I heard a door slam and I turned to see the door between the bathroom and my room to be closed. I frowned slightly at his rude departure and turned to my two dresses to pick one out myself- wait, where's the black and white one? I looked to my right and left again, even standing up to find it. I looked behind me to see if maybe I was lying on it and under my desk to find it wasn't there, either. The only dress I could see was the black, sleeveless one, which was on my desk chair with white flats that had a semi-large black flower on the top of it where my toes were covered underneath the dress and a light, white waist jacket that seemed to be very light and thin on my desk… Wait, I don't recall ever moving…-

I smiled at the sudden realization and looked at Andie's door past the closed bathroom door with a wide grin.

"Thank you," I called before stripping off my clothes and putting on the outfit, getting ready for whatever was going to happen tonight.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

This is worse than the time I was pacing in my room thinking that Aaron was going to rape me, or the time Andie told me the boogey man eats children who have dogs or any pets and have a twin sibling. No, this was bad to the point I could barely breathe. The dress was tight around my chest anyway but I was still able to breathe properly; I just couldn't breathe because of how worked up I was. All of these 'What if' questions kept popping up in my head over and over again, being my main thoughts that I couldn't go around avoiding.

What if they don't like me?

What if I say something stupid?

What if I break something important of theirs and they hate me forever?

What if I knock over his grandma's ashes like that one guy from 'Meet the Parents' did?

What if his sister hates me just because I'm his girlfriend?

What if his mom doesn't like me for the same reason?

What if his dad _is_ a pedophile?

What if they work for the FBI and are secretly trying to break me into saying that Andie did hack into the government?

What if they are all assassins that are here to kill me?

What if they're here to kill me and my family?

What if his mom is a super ninja that's sexist and hates women?

What if- wait what? Where the hell did the last few questions come from? Jesus Christ, am I really that worked up?

I sighed choppily and continued staring out the window of Aaron's car, playing nervously on the hem of my dress. God, this is worse than I thought it was going to be, I thought to myself. I mean, I knew I was going to be worked up but… Not this much…

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my own.

"Hey," I turned my head slightly to see Aaron's bright yet sympathetic smile. "We're here."

I felt my stomach drop along with everything else inside me (probably including my dignity) and gulped, nodding faster than I ought to and looking towards my hands that were still nervously playing with the hem of my dress.

Again, he rubbed the top of my hand softly and slowly with his thumb and I looked up to him to see him giving me a sympathetic smile. "It's going to be ok, I promise," he said, not whispering but speaking just under his breath.

I closed my eyes to nod, and opened my eyes in time to see him leaning in to kiss my forehead.

"Everything will be fine, I promise," he swore again, this time resting his forehead against my own. "You look gorgeous, and you have the most beautiful personality. They are going to love you so much as soon as you walk into that room. You shouldn't worry yourself so much; I wouldn't have asked you to go meet my parents if I thought you would embarrass yourself or me."

I gave a small smile as I took some comfort from his words and violet eyes- they had a light shade of pink near his pupils this time. I smiled wider, knowing now that it wasn't just my nervousness that was causing me to be so worked up. (It explains a lot, actually.) "I should be telling the same thing to you; I see I'm not the only one who's worked up."

He didn't even seem surprised. He smiled and continued staring into me; it was as if he was staring into my consciousness and almost my soul through my eyes.

I couldn't stop staring at his eyes, either; even with the pinkish tint to it around the pupils, he still has beautiful eyes. I wished I had eyes like his. They were so unique in a breath taking kind of way… It wasn't just his eyes either that made him breath taking. No, it was everything about him. His personality, his hair, how it was gelled so that it stayed out of his face but didn't look greaser-ish with some of the hair out of place, just barely hovering above his forehead, how when he dressed for events that were important to him he manages to dress formal but still in a bad ass kind of way with a long sleeved white collared dress shirt untucked with black slacks and dress shoes, the cuffs unbuttoned, and how he always thinks of me before thinking of himself…

I wanted to breathe him in. Just, suck in a lot of air and have him trapped with me forever. Not in the weird 'You're in me now' kind of way just… In a comforting kind of way I guess… In a way that I would know that he would never leave me. Never. I don't want to sound like a total creep, but if he were to leave me now…

I sighed quietly and closed my eyes, rubbing my nose against his before opening my eyes again. I shouldn't think like that. That's how girls get hurt; they like a guy a lot, let them into their lives, give their soul to them, get attached to the point she can't get separated, then dies inside because he used her all up and threw her away. No, I shouldn't think like that.

'_I think that I love you, Audrey Steinbach…'_

"Alright, let's go. My family is waiting."

I blinked back into reality and nodded solemnly, sad this moment had to go. I guess Aaron sensed my uneasiness and chuckled, "You'll be fine. Like I said, they're going to _love_ you. My dad does already."

Yeah, but your dad is super weird, I thought to myself but dared not to say out loud. Instead, I smiled and said nothing.

He smiled at me once more before stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut, walking hurriedly to my side of the car.

The few seconds I had let me think for just a moment and help me relax. Breathe. Come on Audrey. Just breathe. Nothing is going to happen… Ok, yeah something will happen but it will be a good thing. Aaron even promised that nothing… Bad will happen. Do you trust Aaron? You do, don't you? Therefore, there is no need to worry so much. Remember what Kylie said on your first date with Aaron?

"_Just take three deep breaths… Breathe in…"_

I took a deep breath in.

"_Breathe out…"_

I breathed out slowly.

"_Breathe in…"_

I breathe in slowly again.

"_Breathe out…"_

I breathed out, feeling a small amount of the nervousness seep out. Not enough to ease me, though.

I went to breath in a third time to maybe get it out for sure but as soon as I opened my mouth that the door swung open and the nervousness filled me again like icy water flowing through my veins and organs. Aaron leaned down to my eye level and offered his hand to me while the other kept above the door, the small smile still on his countenance. I swallowed the dry spit and looked at his face before looking at his hand. Slowly, I reached out and grabbed his hand- not to help me up, but to help me get through with what I was going to go through. Why did I have this awful feeling that nothing good was going to happen to me tonight?

He leaned down so that his mouth was next to my ear and whispered, "Everything will be all right… I promise."

I shivered as he spoke and felt a chill run down my spine as he kissed the space between my ear and my face and moved his own face towards mine.

I looked up at him with nervous eyes and nodded, not daring to say a word about my uncertainty of his words. He smiled softly again and hesitated for a second before leaning in to kiss me lightly on my lips.

I closed my eyes thinking it was going to be quick then went to pull back when Aaron followed me. I opened my eyes confused and decided to experiment to see how far he would go: I moved my lips, and he followed me. I blinked amazed that he would be doing this in front of his house when I was going to be meeting his parents soon. What the hell is he thinking? I thought. Is he trying to put a bad impression on me? I wanted to end it just in case one of his parents happened to be watching (even though I could see, since my eyes were still open, I never could know if they were lurking from a bush or something; maybe the mother is a weirdo like the father?) but then he got more into it, and I tried to resist the urge to roll my eyes closed and continue but I failed miserably. God damn, why does he have to be such a good kisser? I thought as I gave up and went with it. I can't complain though; it's hard to when your boyfriend's-

The warmth in and on my mouth disappeared as cool air replaced it. I blinked my eyes open confused and surprised to see Aaron standing and looking around him nervously. I guess I wasn't the only one thinking his parents might see.

He looked down at me then and I realized he was blushing. He gave a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry for just breaking it like that… I forgot where we were and why we were here…"

I smiled and nodded, shifting to get my legs out of the car before standing up. He stumbled to get his hand out and offer it to me, making me laugh at his clumsiness. "Why so clumsy all of the sudden? Don't tell me you're starting to get cold feet."

I don't know where my confidence came from, but I liked the feeling.

He gave me a shy, small smile and grabbed my hand softly to help pull me out of the car. "Of course not. Because I for one," he held his right elbow out and I linked my arm with his, clutching his arm slightly, "know you'll do just fine."

I gave a warm smile and kissed his cheek tenderly. I felt him smirk, and he walked us to the door looking straight ahead, I feeling his nervousness dwindle down to nothing but confidence, approval, and praise.

*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*

I sat up as straight as I could against the back of the antique-looking chair I was sitting on while trying to eat as neatly as I could, which proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. On my plate were mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, and medium-rare cooked steak that was half eaten; I was more afraid of eating the mashed potatoes and beans and accidentally getting them on myself than using my knife to cut the steak, so I started with that. I didn't want to spill any of it onto myself just yet.

"So, Audrey…"

I looked up from my plate to the person in front of me, who was a woman in her mid-thirties with dirty blonde hair that was tied back into a neat messy bun (I'm not sure how it could look so neat but it did) and hazel brown eyes. She wore a light blue blouse tucked into her black skirt, which went down to her mid-calf with black 1 ½" open high heeled shoes. She was resting her elbows on the table, her fingers laced together under her chin, with her bangs covering her left eye over her thin rimmed glasses.

Next to her, Ambrose in his business-like attire without the jacket was engulfing his food with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, not even bothering to eat in a mannerly fashion. I honestly didn't blame him; this food was absolutely delicious. It took every fiber of my being not to do the same, however one look at Aaron sitting next to me showed how much he disapproved his father's behavior and how embarrassed he was.

The table was big enough to fit six people, eight including the ends, but only four were filled: Me, Aaron, Ambrose, and Aaron's mother, Irene. The sister was going to be arriving late ("Not anything new," Aaron had murmured under his breath while Irene was saying grace) so I wouldn't get to meet her until maybe after dinner.

The room was not very large but not bare, either. The walls were a burgundy, brown color with many well furnished and polished wood furniture. The floor was a wide, white tile floor that sort of looked like random bumps underneath the red Arabian carpet. The table was itself very antique like, being made of wood, hefty, and brawn with knobs at the bottom, middle, and top of each leg in a beautifully handcrafted way. The chairs were similar to the table, only a red cushion was on each chair with the similar twisting design at the back of the chairs while the table had a red table cloth on top of it to keep the wood from getting ruined.

"What do you plan on doing after high school?" Irene asked with surprising smoothness, like those Yoplait Smoothie Yogurts but in her voice, and a strange accent hidden in her voice.

I swallowed what little food was still in my mouth before answering to Aaron's mother, "Well… I plan on going to college and to study in zoology."

She tilted her head in approval. "Zoology? That sounds wonderfully exciting. Aaron had told us about your love for animals. I suppose that contributes to the reason why you wanted to study it?"

I smiled warmly, looking at Aaron's direction swiftly before raising my knife (concealing my fear, of course) and fork and cutting another piece of steak. "Yes, it does help contribute to that. In fact, that's the main reason why: I want to help animals, so what other way of doing so than to go into zoology?"

"What about being a veterinarian? Have you ever thought of that?"

I looked up in time to see Irene give Ambrose a brief glance (with a smile, by the way) before looking back at me amused.

This woman seemed extremely nice, but the fact she's completely indifferent of her husbands' eating habits… Well, I can't really say anything can I? I have a very similar way of eating, mainly because I don't usually use knives like I am now.

I shook my head, both at her question and to get the thought of the knife out of my head, "I have, but I can't stand the thought of putting an animal to sleep…. It hurts me too much. I'd rather study them and become a zoologist than to euthanize them."

She nodded her head understandably before Ambrose looked at me for the first time since we started eating. "Yeah… But wouldn't you be putting that animal out of its' misery if you just put 'em down?" he asked between chews and swallows.

I blinked and left my cut piece on my fork, looking directly at Ambrose. "Not all animals are in misery. Some are put down just because they're not needed or wanted anymore. The animal shelters are starting to get too full with stranded and stray animals, and the Humane centers are being knocked down to turn into something of 'more usefulness'," I said, using my fingers to air quote mockingly. "If I were to become a vet, I would have to obey by the Floridian laws, which would be me putting an animal to sleep if they want to put them to sleep because of lack of room unless someone else would want to take them home, but I can't take them all home and not everyone is a good pet owner. I strongly disagree with that law. Every animal should have a right to live, whether there is room or not, and I refuse to become one of those people who have to obey ignorant people who just go around picking up strays then dropping them off at vets' offices, expecting them to take care of the animals for them." I took a breath, the burning in my chest making me realize I hadn't taken one in a while, and tried to calm myself down. I closed my eyes for a moment before looking back up at Irene and Ambrose. "It ticks me off… People who do that."

Both sat there, one shocked and awed as if they just observed a pet just perform a human task and the other with an amused look in his eyes and an almost cocky smirk. (Guess which was which?) I looked at Aaron who had stopped eating and was rubbing my knee in comfort. He gave me a reassuring smile and I smiled back at him, feeling somewhat calmer.

Aaron cleared his throat. "Audrey is very passionate about animals… She has a Jack Russell Terrier at home named Marcy." He turned to look at his parents while he spoke before looking back at me with a smile.

Irene caught on. "Oh really? Oh, she must be adorable! Um, it is a she, yes?"

I gave Aaron a silent 'Thank you' by smiling and looked back at his parents. "Yes, Marcy is a she. And I do have to say that she is adorable, but then again she is my dog so I suppose my opinion doesn't really matter," I laughed.

She smiled and I finally saw some age in her eyes, lines appearing around her deep set eyes. It was that knowledge, I realized, that Aaron and his mother have in common. That, and other similarities like her face shape and smile. I would have thought that he would get his eye color from her but I guess that's a random family trait.

"Of course your opinion matters, dear, even if she is yours. I've always been a dog person… They're just more playful and interactive than most other animals. I like cats, too, but they're more entertaining than they are playful." She tilted her head again, her chin still resting on her knitted fingers.

"I think they're all the same." I looked over at Ambrose literally licking his fingers after finishing his steak. "Pets, I mean. Not all animals are the same, of course, but all pets are the same. You have to take care of them: They eat, they drink, they move, they poop, they piss, then repeat the cycle. See? All the same."

He wiggled his licked fingers as he picked up his fork and got his face near his plate so he could scoop the rest of the mashed potatoes into his mouth. Honestly, you'd think he'd be the youngest of us all here…

Ambrose wasn't the first person to say this about pets to me. In fact I was pretty much used to people thinking this way about pets, especially from Andie. However, I was slightly surprised to hear this from him. For some reason I had expected him to be a little more loving about pets…

I guess that's why I suddenly felt a rise in anger and the feeling to correct him right then and there. I restrained myself from doing so, scolding myself that I shouldn't be feeling like this, that I was used to these types of opinions, that it isn't that bad that he thinks like that, but I wouldn't have it. I gripped the hem of my dress with my free hand and breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth.

When I thought I had calmed myself, I then felt outraged, upset at the insipid comment his father said. How could one be so ignorant? Anger coursed through my veins, and I had a difficult time breathing due to pressure pressing on my chest, clutching my lungs with an iron fist.

Once again I felt Aaron's reassuring hand on my knee, his nervousness and concern reaching my senses, and I ignored it. Or try to, anyway. I saw what I was doing and tried to breathe again, his father still enraging me. Why is this getting me so upset? I don't understand…

Unless this isn't mine. This feeling of anger was someone else's, but, who? Who could be feeling this… Angry?

Irene and Ambrose seemed to be completely clueless of what Ambrose had caused; she was looking at her husband eat maliciously and giggling uncontrollably. God damn, what kind of family does he have? I asked myself quietly in my mind. I sighed and closed my eyes. Then again, I don't get to see my mum and father together much anyway, so perhaps that's why it seems so strange to me…

I tried to see if there were anymore emotions other than my own mood, Irene's bubbly mood, Ambrose's love (which was strong, by the way), and Aaron's increasing concern and nervousness. Nope, no anger or anything of the sort. But…

I looked deeper, furrowing my eyebrows in concentration, wanting to know if maybe someone else was here, and found… Nothing.

I became more unsure if what I felt was from my own or not, but I knew that it was an emotion, and that it wasn't normal. Why couldn't I see them? I could sense that they were somewhere near (otherwise I wouldn't feel this anger) but where? Unless…

I opened my eyes and looked at the door behind Aaron's smiling parents. Maybe…

I felt Aaron touch my knee again and I jumped. "You ok?" he asked again in a low voice.

I took a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and suddenly the anger was gone, just, vanished. I blinked in confusion, wondering where all the anger had gone. It couldn't have vanished like that; there is no way that an emotion that strong could just disappear in a matter of seconds or less. And I couldn't have just imagined it was there; when I feel someone's emotions or even my own I know they're there, even when they're odd ones. Then again, I have been having bizarre mood swings lately…

"Audrey?" I looked at Aaron, who was now giving me an even more worried countenance. His eyes showed his concern for me, dimming ever so slightly to a dull purple color. "Are you ok? You're starting to worry me…"

I sighed and smiled, "Yeah, I'm ok. I just…"

I sighed again and looked at his parents, who were feeding each other now. I couldn't help but smile at the tenderness and love, despite it being kind of gross since Ambrose had mashed potatoes and pieces of green beans around his mouth.

In a low voice that was equal to his, I tried to explain my thoughts. "I felt… Like there was someone else here. In the room. I mean, I don't see someone else in the room, I was able to feel their anger, but…"

I looked down at my plate, frowning in slight frustration. "I think I'm starting to go crazy… I feel extremely angry out of the blue and think that it's someone else's emotions but when I look around no one is there but us… Was it me feeling like that? But… I don't think I'd ever get so angry at something like that, even if it is about animals… And I couldn't have imagined it… But, I have been starting to feel emotions that I don't feel usually… It's been recently, but I'm happy one moment then suddenly feel… Different."

I tried not to shiver at the more recent time a couple of nights ago where I was in my room, feeling content, when suddenly I felt lustful and had an urge to do something I've never had before, scaring the living shit out of me and making me blush in embarrassment.

"Maybe I was feeling the emotions of someone outside of this room but I've never been able to reach that far before; why now?" I sighed frustrated and solemnly stared at my plate. "Aaron… I'm starting to think I'm getting bi-polar now…"

I looked up and saw that Aaron's complexion had paled as he stared at something that was on my shoulder.

I blinked repeatedly at his reaction, expecting him to look at me to let me know he was listening and not to seem so… Vacant.

"Aaron are you alright?" I asked surprised. I looked down on my shoulder and back at him as his eyes darted toward mine then rested on his plate. "Uh, yeah, I just…" He paused, and I felt a lot of emotions roll off him, most I couldn't recognize they were going by so fast: Nervousness, concern, shock, some slight anger… Terror? No, that can't be right... What would he be afraid of…?

He lowered his face as it darkened and he stood up from the table, "I need to use the restroom."

He stormed off around the table then in the opposite direction of me to the room that was behind his parents.

Irene looked up pleasantly but surprised at her sons' action, "Oh, honey, where are you going?"

He didn't answer; he opened the door before sliding himself in and closing it harshly. I winced at the sound. Irene and Ambrose stared at the door for a second longer before Irene sighed and looked at me with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry about that, dear. I'm not really sure what got into him, but I'm sure it'll pass soon enough." And she looked at her husband again, his mouth already open enough to fit a cargo ship.

I blinked as she forked a piece of steak from her steak, smothered with mash potatoes, before looking at her husband adoringly and feeding him like an obedient child. I looked down on my own quarter eaten plate, my steak not even half way finished yet. I wonder if I should finish this steak… I lost my appetite though, for some odd reason…

I sighed and asked politely if there was another restroom and where it was. While Ambrose was chewing, Irene pointed to the doors behind me and told me to go up the stairs on my left side and the restroom would be to my second right. I thanked her and walked swiftly out of the room and up the stairs, glad to be getting 'fresh air' sort of speak, even though I'm inside.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I looked for the second door on the right and walked in, locking the door behind me before putting the toilet seat down and sitting on it. I rested my elbow on my knee and held my head from the headache that was developing, wondering only these questions:

What just happened?

And more importantly…

What did I do now?

* * *

**_A/N: _PLEASE TELL ME OF ANY ERRORS_._**

**_I am so so so SO sorry for the very late update! As I promised on my profile, I'll update again on Friday. See, I've been busy with school work and activities and the season premiere of Doctor Who and I haven't had time to update, or even type these chapters up! Let me know of any errors, PLEASE! I'll even type it again below:_**

**PLEASE TELL ME OF ANY ERRORS_._**

**_Now that you're distracted by that, I'm going to work on the next chapter. Let me know what you think. :) ~_**

**_A/N Update: I just kept the last one because it made me giggle, mostly because now the 50th Anniversary is coming up soon and... Well... I thought it was funny... Anywho... As usual, lemme know your thoughts. Thank you. ~_**


	17. CHAPTER 16: Something Unexpected

**CHAPTER 16: Something Unexpected…**

I sat on the toilet seat lid with my knees inward and feet outward as I leaned my upper weight onto my right elbow that was on my thigh, resting my chin in the palm of my hand.

Why did he just leave like that?

Did I have something to do with it?

Did I do something wrong?

What _did_ I do wrong?

I sighed in frustration as I took my flats off and rubbed the back of my ankles.

Maybe it was something I said?

I pouted at that; what could I have said to get him to storm off like that? I didn't say anything… Ok, yeah, I did, but I was thinking, and there's quite a difference between speaking out loud and talking to yourself in your head… Wow, people would think I was insane or something if they could hear what I just said… But everyone talks to themselves… So… I'm justified in some sense… Hm… Well, I don't think I said any of my thoughts out loud though…

I sat up and pouted again, furrowing my eyebrows. Let's see… What was happening again…? I was talking to him about how I was feeling angry for some odd reason… Yeah… Ok, that's right. Nothing wrong with that… At least, I don't think so… Could he have-

I shook my head and sighed. Audrey, why would he be upset about you talking about how you feel? Has he ever before? No. So why think that? Don't doubt him, I scolded myself.

I slouched to rest my chin on the palm of my hand again, shaking those childish thoughts away. So… After I said that… Aaron was acting weird. As usual. Except, this time he was… Weirder than weird. He was feeling scared for some reason, and not distant. I mean, he felt scared along with some other feelings of course, but he was mainly feeling scared. Why was he feeling so scar-

I sat up again. Oh God. Did I say _that_ out loud…? He did leave as soon as I thought that… Or that I thought I thought that… I groaned again and leaned my face into both of my hands, covering my face. Oh God, Aaron, I am so sorry, I am so, so sorry… I was only just thinking… They weren't meant to be heard… How could I be such an idiot? Saying something like that out loud… You know how prideful guys are, Audrey, you live with one! You probably hurt his feelings or manlihood or something of the sort, especially with his random moods…

I sat there in my criticizing aura for a good few moments, yelling at myself, (and making sure it was all in my head and not out loud this time) before I sighed and stood up, putting back on my shoes, and decided it was time to head back to the dinner table.

But first, I had to make sure that I looked decent. I pushed the wrinkles on my dress downward and fixed my hair in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable, or at least, sort of presentable. Geez, my hair is such a mess, I thought to myself frowning. I wish Kylie could've helped me… I know she would've done a better job than I could have. I sighed again and attempted to fix my hair again, which was down and parted to the left side with my bangs left untouched and the rest of my hair braided at the back of my head.

Being the person I was, and having the luck I have, I heard a pounding on the door and jumped, squeaking a high note softly in surprise. "Hey, Audrey, are you all right? You've been in there for a while…"

I sighed in relief at Aaron's voice. Then I thought about what I said earlier and felt regret. Ok, so I should probably apologize when I get out there, I thought. I'm not sure how it could have insulted him so bad… No, I do. He's a guy, that's right. And not just any guy. All guys have a ball of pride. And that ball of pride can-

"… You're not crying because I left so hastily, are you?"

I stopped reaching for the door and my thoughts.

What?

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to leave so quickly… Or so rudely… I just got worried when you said you felt someone's anger so I went to go check the house out and make sure nobody broke in or something…"

Well, I suppose that makes sense, I bobbed my head back and forth along with my thoughts, looking upward before looking at the door to hear what else Aaron had to say.

"… Just to let you know, no one broke in…"

I felt my shoulders slump. Great, so I am going crazy. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, thinking how I was watching an insane person that should be a patient in a mental home. I gave myself an exasperated look. Thanks, I thought sourly to my negative thoughts. That doesn't make me feel any better…

"But, my sister was at the door."

My eyebrows twitched downward and I glanced back at the door.

"It turns out, it took her a while to get here because her taxi took the longest route possible and drove slow or something dramatic like that… She was so pissed off at the guy she didn't even tip him. Anyway, I thought you should know that she was the reason why you felt anger."

I tiled my head and looked at the wall adjacent to the door. That's good to know… That I'm not going crazy, I mean…

My previous thoughts about her being a girlfriend hater came back and I shivered at the sudden nervousness creeping up in me, like icy water being poured down my back, and tried to shove those thoughts aside. _You'll be fine, you'll be just fine…_ Kylie's inner soothing voice reassured me.

"… Well… Anyway, when I got back to the table and saw you weren't there, I thought of why you weren't there and after some thinking realized it was because of me, so… I'm sorry."

I looked back at the door again, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. He didn't even say that he thought it was because of him; he _knew_ it was because of him… Even though it wasn't.

"… I really mean it, I do…"

I couldn't resist it anymore and smiled to myself, hugging my sides; he really is a sweet guy… When he wants to be.

"You know I mean it, love."

I smiled even wider, hugging myself tighter as I felt bubbly all of the sudden at the pet name. Who knew I could be like this just by a few sentences?

"… So… Can I come in now and see that pretty face of yours?"

I laughed softly and leaned myself against the door. "I'm sorry," I said in my best English accent, "but I'm afraid you've got the wrong flat."

I smiled as I waited for his response that came in a matter of seconds later. "That so?" he responded in his normal American accent. "Well I am terribly sorry ma'am; I didn't know I had a British person living in my home."

I suppressed another laugh and retaliated playfully back in my accent, "Well, you should have known; didn't you realize that there are tea bags all over the place?"

I heard a chuckle next to the door, feeling weight against it. "I didn't notice them; was too busy admiring my girlfriend."

I felt that bubbly feeling return in my chest. "I pity her, then, having to deal with a bugger like you; jerk."

I heard him laugh through the wooden door, "I'm actually surprised you used that word, Miss English person. And I think my girlfriend is very appreciative of having such a wonderful, handsome, kind, creative, skilled, muscular, witty…"

I unlocked and opened the door outwards and leaned against the doorframe, giving him an amused exasperated look.

He smirked before continuing his fake cocky attitude, "Smart, experienced, sexy, handsome-"

"You already said that," I interrupted with a smirk.

"-nice, thoughtful, athletic, funny-"

"You wish," I said playfully, smiling wider.

He gave me a toothy grin as he walked the two-three steps towards me. "Happy… Grateful… Boyfriend…"

He walked each step at each word he spoke before stepping in front of me and wrapping his arms around my waist. In return I wrapped my own arms around his neck. He grinned wider and craned his neck down to be near the level of my face tilting towards his.

"But most of all…" he said under his breath, his smile diminishing, "She should know that I'm just lucky to have someone like her in my life to be my girlfriend… And I hope she forgives me for running off like that in the blue."

I stared in his eyes for a little bit, feeling touched that he thought up of something like that in thin air, then smiled and said (even though I really never was upset at him for leaving) in my accent, "She already did; long time ago, mate. You should pay more attention to these things."

He grinned again and touched his forehead with mine. "I suppose I should, sheila."

I grinned again and giggled softly, "That's Australian."

He leaned into me with a wider smile, mumbling against my lips, "I know that," before closing his eyes and kissing me.

I smirked against him and closed my eyes, responding to the kiss.

To be honest, I didn't really care that I was in his parents' house at the moment; they can wait. Besides, the last time I checked, his parents weren't really paying any attention to the world but themselves (in a sweet, romantic way). I just want his attention and to cherish the moment for now before we have to head back downstairs again to be with his family, pretending that nothing happened.

It's amazing… How one could go and meet so many people but only one can make you feel like the pearl of the sea… Even more than that; how they can be from somebody you just met to the person you never thought would understand you so well that you can trust. I'm not calling it love (yet) but… Of all the people I've been with… Of all the people I've met, even… I'd never been with someone, especially a guy, as honest and as kind as him who is still masculine and straight. (The amount of guys who I thought were straight and was proven not to be is pretty high…) I've been trying to find any flaws to him since we've started dating, and despite him being sort of weird and distant at times and sometimes just being a typical guy (like the Icee from our first date, it's happened I would say almost twenty times already but with clothing, books, school supplies, and other things, not just food (but I spoke to him already about it so it doesn't happen as often as it used to be)) he's pretty much the ideal guy I'd prefer to be with… If not for right now, then always. I've grown to trust him, something I don't say or do openly… And I feel like he has grown to trust me, too.

I felt him hesitate and lean back, and I opened my eyes to see a pained expression on his face.

"Aaron," I asked concerned, "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

His eyes darted everywhere but me, never staying in one place for a second.

I furrowed my eyebrows and unwrapped my arms around his neck to place on his chest. I could feel how distressed he was, how he was hurting, meaning that it was mental, emotional pain… "Aaron…?"

He gasped and looked at me with an… Well, with an expression I can't really explain; his countenance only displayed the mix of emotions that I could feel roll off of him: Worry, sadness, anxiety, impatience, (how I could feel that I don't know) pain… All of these were rolled into one, sort of shocked, innocent, and curious looking expression on his handsome face. It's difficult to say exactly how he looked like; almost like looking at a rabbit when it's facing you for the first time in a cage.

Of everything that I was able to detect from him, I was able to sense that something was wrong or troubling him, or even both. I grabbed his forearm and gripped it tightly but softly enough to not hurt him. "Aaron, what happened?" I asked in a shaky stern tone.

He continued staring at me with that expression, just looking into one eye then the next. He seemed like he was fighting something, not physically but mentally, in his head, like an action or a decision of some sort… The fight for a decision I was able to feel from his emotions told me that it was probably one of the two. I swallowed, my eyes darting all over his face, trying to read him. He kept the same expression though, and kept a pained, saddened look to him that was growing more and more sympathetic. Maybe… Maybe he was wondering whether to tell me what's wrong or not…

"Aaron…" I said softly, using my other hand to cup one side of his face. "You know you can tell me anything, right? You know I'm honest, and I hope you know that I'm trustworthy, too… You can tell me anything."

His expression softened, but more worry and pain was expressed in his eyes.

I couldn't help but wonder if it was me causing this pain.

After a few minutes of waiting for his response I realized I wasn't going to get one from him and sighed, smiling sympathetically. "I understand if you don't want to tell me; some things are just better-"

"It's not that," he interrupted. I blinked surprised at his outburst and he gulped slowly, keeping his jaw stiff.

"Um, ok," I said slowly, wondering how he was going to know what I was going to say or if maybe he just wanted to clarify my suspicions. "Then… What is it?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly through his nose, his lips forming a thin line as he clenched his jaw tighter. I furrowed my eyebrows again in worry and reminded him that I was here by stroking my thumb against his shaved cheek. He opened his eyes again, which I realized was a dark purple, almost blue color, and I smiled. "It's ok, you don't have to tell me, now," I hesitated, watching my words carefully. "Or ever. You can take your time; I can be patient with you."

His entire physique seemed to have melted at my words as he stared into my eyes again, one by one with a look of sadness and sympathy in them. I smiled a little wider now, "I mean it. I have a hard time being patient with other people but with you… I can manage it. I can wait, for you."

He continued staring into my eyes with a loving look to them, but with more sympathy behind the emotion. Whether the sympathy was for myself or for him, I couldn't tell. After a moment, he cupped my face with both of his hands. "Audrey…" he choked, clearing his throat after he spoke my name. "I have something to tell you."

I tried to hide the smile that was fighting to tug at my lips but eventually I was able to keep it steady as a small, patient smile. "What is it?"

He seemed to have started to hyperventilate as he fidgeted from one foot to another. My smile vanished as I witnessed him looking down at our feet and biting his lower lip. (Which was cute by the way, something that I'll probably tease him about and force him to do again someday, but not right now.) I don't know what it is that's hurting him like this, but I don't like it. I wanted to take away whatever feelings that were hurting him now so he wouldn't be like this; I felt so awful, being useless like this… If he didn't want to tell me, then he shouldn't. I don't want to hurt him if it's going to pain him.

But then again… I want to know… Like, _really_ want to know… I'm not going to lie to myself; I am extremely curious. I want to know _so badly_. However, if he didn't want to tell me, I wasn't going to push him. I can set aside my curiosity for him until he feels like he wants to tell me. And if he doesn't ever tell me… Well, it won't kill me for not knowing. Hopefully.

He grinned suddenly and I looked at him confused. "What are you smiling at…?" I murmured suspiciously. He shook his head still grinning. "It's nothing." I looked up at him and nodded slowly, wondering if perhaps it should be him in the asylum and not me.

He mumbled something that I couldn't catch under his breath.

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

My left eye twitched. Ok, now I'm getting annoyed.

He looked up at me again but with more confidence this time. "Ok," he exhaled, "I have something to tell you."

I nodded. "Ok… What is it?"I asked, waiting for his response.

He hesitated again, seeming to panic, and took a deep breath. "I… I'm not…who you think I am…"

'_I KNEW IT!_' was the first thought that came to mind, and I had to fight myself to not roll my eyes at my childish inner self. "What do you mean, 'You're not who I think you are'…?"

He swallowed. "I mean… Just that. I'm not who you think I am. I…" I took a deep breath.

"It's ok," I repeated myself, remembering that I was gripping his forearm in one hand and holding his cheek with the other. "Take your time." I smiled and gripped him tighter, stroking his cheek again. "I told you, I'll be patient for you. And, even if you don't want to tell me now, I'm always going to be here for you to talk to." Well, actually not really… If I'm really busy then he won't be able to talk to me but in general he would be able to… I should probably keep that to myself for now though.

He looked at me with wonder and exasperation, swallowed again, then shook his head and my hand off him. "No… You shouldn't…" He gained more confidence again and he hardened his gaze on me, the muscles in his face stiffening so that instead of the 17 year old teenager he was, he looked to be a 21 year old man. I flinched back at his sudden change of age appearance, and after a few seconds I realized that I- I can't believe I feel this; I'm going to kick myself later for this- was ultimately turned on. I wanted to grab him right then and there and drag him into the bathroom behind me.

However, I couldn't let his determined, hot self at the moment get to me. And so, breathing shallow breaths and trying to shake the thought quietly, I confusedly blinked at him and stuttered, "Why not?" trying to control myself.

He continued staring at me like that for a while, looking at one eye then the other. "Do you remember the conversation we had that time when we were discussing the book we were reading for English?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave him a blank stare, "Which one?" I asked dully and sarcastically. "We've had quite a lot of conversations about that class, and we've read quite a few books… Be specific."

He sighed, and looked down again. "The one of… Whether mythical creatures existed or not…"

My eyebrows twitched downward in suspicion, wondering why he would mention that, and nodded, vaguely remembering the small talk we had a few weeks ago.

He continued staring at me with the determined look that didn't even look like him anymore, turning me on even more, (honest to God, why must my hormones be like this now of all times? I must be getting my period soon, it's the only reasoning that explains my mood swings and hormones) taking shallower and shallower breaths, causing his nostrils to flare, and just when I was going to ask him what that had to do with anything, he finally blurted out what he had been trying to tell me for the past ten to fifteen minutes:

"I'm a vampire."

I felt a smile tug at my lips and despite trying to hide it, I couldn't this time. The toothy smile spread to the rest of my face as I choked back the laughter that was trying to take over me. "Um, you're a…. What?"

I must have heard him wrong; there is no way I could've heard what I thought I heard him say.

He sighed, but he sagged now, relief rolling off of him in bundles. "You heard me right, and I know you don't believe me right now but, right now," he laughed as I realized he repeated himself twice, occupying some of my thoughts, "I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest!"

I was really, really trying hard to not laugh now. He was still cupping my face with his hands as he chuckled and looked at me with such relief and happiness… And I gripped his forearm even tighter to keep myself from bursting out laughing.

I get it. He's testing me. Seeing if I really do care about him, and if I really would go by my word.

"No, I wasn't," he chuckled, shaking his head.

I frowned. "Wasn't what…?"

He rolled his eyes. "Going to test you. Nor am I going to now."

I rose my eyebrows astonished, then furrowed them. "How did you know I was thinking that?" I asked slowly.

He shrugged, then stood there watching me. "Let's just say that I can read people pretty well."

Damn, I wish I could read people like that…

He smiled wider, "No, you don't; it sucks."

I frowned again. "What… What does?"

Still smiling, he replied, "Reading people… It sucks."

A mixture of feelings was becoming me suddenly. I wanted to laugh _so hard_ but at the same time I was starting to get annoyed at this 'reading people' thing Aaron was doing. His smile was kind of starting to bug me too…

This _has_ to be some sort of trust test he planned for me.

His smile softened ever so slightly and he rolled his eyes. "I told you, I'm not-"

"Ok, quit it with the whole… People reading thing," I intercepted. "Whatever it really is."

He smirked, "Believe me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I felt a bubble of laughter wanting to leave my throat. "Oh really?" I tried to cough off instead of full out laugh in his face.

He leaned his head against my forehead, causing soft whimpers to exit my closed mouth, and whispered softly, "Yep."

I guess he intercepted my whimpers incorrectly, because while I was trying not to laugh in his face, I guess he thought that I was scared.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," he murmured, rubbing my back softly.

Still trying to choke back laughter I replied, "Yeah I've always known you wouldn't…"

He smiled, and I realized that this was a different smile than his normal ones for me.

He's has smiles of amusement, when he's doing something he knows is annoying me or observing me do something I think is completely normal (like my facial expressions) but he thinks is cute. He's given me an exasperated smile, when I tease him of something or want to do something really badly or even say anything that I know will annoy him but he takes anyway. He has also given me a smile of bewilderment, usually when I do something that amazes him (I've only seen this look maybe a few times and I will admit they were not my brightest hours). There's his smile when I say or do something he thinks is funny and, my favorite smile, is when he gives me that smile of complete and utter adoration for me, almost as if the smile itself is asking himself what he did to be with me and, even though he really shouldn't be asking himself that (he really does deserve me), how lucky he is to be here with me at that moment.

This smile however… I'd never seen it before.

It had some exasperation in it and definitely some of that adoration in it, too, but with a mixture of other feelings I couldn't really interpret… What I could definitely see, however were two feelings I'd never seen before: Relief and, shockingly enough, trust.

Why was trust such a new feeling to feel from him…? Hasn't he trusted me this whole time…?

I saw that new smile diminish into a smaller one and he closed his eyes. "Audrey… I want you to understand something…"

I'm guessing he did the whole 'person reading' whatever and was about to protest-

"Just hear me out," he interrupted, even though he interrupted my thoughts instead of my words.

I closed my open mouth, now really annoyed at this… Thing he has.

It's not that different from your empathy links to others, a small voice spoke, and I couldn't help but to reason with it for his sake.

After these thoughts, Aaron sighed almost exasperated. "I have… Always trusted you… It's just that I didn't feel close enough to you to… Talk so much about my private life…"

He took another big breath. "The reason why I wanted you to join my family for dinner tonight was because I wanted to show you that I do trust you, and that I feel like I can trust you enough to show you more of me and who I am."

He paused, waiting to see my reaction.

I kept a blank, understanding countenance despite what I was feeling in the inside. Truth be told, I really wasn't feeling that much, but it was a mix of understanding of his words, confusion of why he's deciding to tell me this after that whole… Thing, and admiration for his honesty. I also, though I didn't want to admit it, thought it was really sweet that he trusted me enough to be doing this for me despite himself, but was also couldn't help but wonder where this was all leading to.

After a moment, he sighed again but in a more relaxed manner. "I had planned on introducing my family- my _whole_ family, not person by person- to you, but not confessing myself to you. I mean, I've always known that I would probably tell you eventually but," he chuckled to himself, "wow, I can't believe how well you're taking this."

I'm not sure how this whole 'people reading' thing works, but I don't think it works on reading peoples emotions. If it did, he would've been able to see the rising will to laugh in me and the growing sense of doubt and suspicion.

He closed his eyes and sighed content against my forehead while I was having a full on blown up civil war going on in my head.

Where was all this leading to?

Does he really expect me to be… That?

What is he really trying to tell me?

What if he's using that as a cover up for something else?

What the hell does he expect out of me?

And why would he tell me that?

He frowned and removed his forehead from mine, opening his eyes in the process. They were fluctuating between a light purple and dark violet. "You don't believe me, do you…?"

Again, I repressed a laughter and gave a small smile instead. "Believe what?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and seemed to have frowned even more. "Of what I am…"

I coughed back a loud laugh, "Of course I don't," I blinked repetitively. "I'm just waiting for you to tell me what's really on your mind."

I felt, and saw, a small flash of hurt but that was quickly covered up. "I already did. Whether you choose to believe or not is entirely up to you but… I do hope that you end up siding with me."

This time I couldn't hold it back. I gave out a short and hearty laugh, one that startled Aaron.

After about thirty seconds of laughing I felt Aaron's anger and annoyance grow in him. "What's so funny?" he murmured.

I held onto my hurting stomach from laughing so loud and calmed myself down to a soft giggle. When I was able to speak again and see a little clearer, I saw that Aaron's expression was one of slight anger with a mixture of regret, sadness, and patience.

"You can't honestly think that I'd believe such a fable," I scoffed.

His expression became darker, and I started to wonder if I should have kept these thoughts to myself.

"No, I would've been able to see them anyway," he said gravely.

I got annoyed. "Ok, I don't know what you're doing, but it needs to stop right now."

His expression became angrier, "Really? 'cause like you I can't help it."

I gritted my teeth. First the whole testing thing with the… Thing and now this? He's starting to get on my nerves…

"For the last time," he said exasperated, "it was not a test-"

"Oh for the love of- What did I just say? Stop that!" I exclaimed.

In under a split second Aaron was in front of me and grabbing me by my waist and grabbing my wrists and raising them above my head against the wall next to the bathroom door. Before I could register what just happened he pressed himself against me and glared into me.

My patience was already thin and was running thinner with this action and it took every fiber of my being to not rip my hands from his grip and shove him away from me. However, judging by the tight grip he had on my wrists and the angry look he had on his countenance and the amount of anger radiating into me, I justified that this was not a wise decision.

We stayed in that position for a second… Thirty seconds… A minute… Two minutes… Three… Not changing emotion.

Until, for some reason, maybe because of my hormones, maybe because of my recent mood swings, maybe because of my upcoming period, maybe because I felt somewhat bad or was kinky (for some reason I couldn't tell the difference), but I felt strangely attracted to him, and my expression softened.

His countenance stayed the same- hard, angry, stern- but his eyes betrayed the look of slight confusion at my sudden change of manner.

I relaxed against his hold and, knowing he wasn't going to release my wrists or my waist anytime soon and being content (for some odd reason) with that, I lifted my head to see him better.

I could tell he was trying to read me. His eyes were constantly darting from one of my eyes to the other, trying to understand what was going on and what I was thinking.

Seeing his expression wasn't changing I lifted myself a little more to my full height and bit my lip.

His expression still didn't change and I felt a sudden desire to have him, in more than one way, and a sudden feeling that I wasn't exactly used to feeling- Possessive.

"Aaron," I whispered just under my breath.

Something buckled in him, and his expression of anger softened into something darker, into an expression I'd never seen or felt from him…

I felt my breathing fasten, and as I pressed against him more I felt his heart racing as fast as mine. I closed the distance between us to a short breath away, and I took that time to look into his half shut eyes. His eyes were a dark violet, almost as dark as night. As I finished closing off the distance, I thought about what led to this and decided to ignore it and finally kissed him.

There was nothing 'soft' or 'loving' about this kiss. This kiss was full of desires, full of passion, want, lust. And, as far as I could tell, we were both fine with this.

We were both rough, something neither of us had been with each other before. We nipped and tugged and growled and, for some reason, _it felt good,_ and we both (I can tell in more than one way that he definitely did) enjoyed it extremely. I liked this other side of both myself and him.

At some point he had let go of my wrists and had brought his other hand to bunch into my braid at the back of my head while I had brought my own hands down to tug on his shirt and bring him closer to me.

Somehow, while we were at each other, we had moved from the space on the wall next to the bathroom door to _onto_ the bathroom door, which was still open.

I felt him tug on my lower lip once more and right when I was going to show dominance I felt him leave my own lips and leave a trail of kisses from the corner of my lips, down my cheek, along my jawbone, and down my neck. Before I could think anything of it I felt him nip the space below my jawbone along the right side of my neck. I gasped in surprise, and felt him smirk against me. I took in choppy breaths, since I hadn't really been breathing for the past few minutes or so, and took in a long breath as he kissed the skin there tenderly.

After all the action we were just doing, I was _not_ ok with him just stopping there. I mean, he has never, _ever__, _been one to give hickies, but in the mood I'm in and the state I'm in, I'm pretty much open to anything by this point

I gasped again and wrapped one arm around his middle and one up to the back of his neck when he nipped again. He stopped, and I tightened my grip around him to make him continue. At this action I felt him smile again.

I swear this boy will end the life of me, I thought bitterly.

Right when I was about to say something sarcastic I felt the sensation again and tightened my fist in his hair as I gasped and fluttered my eyes in pleasure. This time he didn't stop.

I've had a couple of boyfriends before Aaron. I had this one guy who was afraid of doing anything without being in the presence of his entire family, I've had a boyfriend who was too scared to go past normal kissing, and I dated someone who was a decent kisser but only wanted to date me to say that he slept with me (which did not end well by the way).

Aaron is different from the other guys I've dated in more than one way.

For one, he actually understands me. I don't have to explain myself more than once because I know that he understands what I'm going through and my situation, no matter what it is.

Two, he's not afraid to take risks, like now. We're in his house, his parents _and_ his sister are waiting for us downstairs, and he risks everything, us being caught, his father watching in pleasure… Maybe I should be more concerned… But not right now.

One of the top reasons why he's different is that not only is he experienced, but he knows how to surprise me and what he knows I would take pleasure in. He also knows his limits, which I am somewhat questioning at the moment, but ignoring for now-

"OW!" I yelped as he bit too hard and I winced at the sudden flash of pain.

He jumped back immediately, his hands at his sides, eyes wide in horror. I noticed that his cheeks were more flushed than usual and his lips were more red and swollen, but I ignored it knowing that it was from what we were… Doing.

I rubbed my neck subconsciously and pouted, "You know, I really don't mind what you're doing there, in fact I enjoy it immensely, but perhaps we should try to keep down a notch; I am made of skin and flesh."

He gulped and licked his lips, almost nervously. That's when I realized that he actually _was_ nervous now, and I hid the disappointment of being able to feel other people's emotions.

I furrowed my eyebrows in suspicion. "What?" I asked a little too harshly.

He lowered his eyes and looked away, the floor and stairs becoming interesting all of the sudden.

I narrowed my eyes; what the hell did he do now?

And that's when I realized that my hand was wet.

I froze with a confused countenance, rubbing my fingers against my neck to make sure that I was getting this right. Yes, my neck was wet… But with what? And_ why?_ I frowned and removed my hand, and I nearly screamed at what I saw on it.

Blood.

_My_ blood.

Wait, hold on a minute, there. Ok, breathe. Ok, Audrey, don't jump into conclusions. He could have bit his tongue or something while giving you a hickie. It might not be your blood.

But the recent occurrence of the sudden pain came to mind and the memory of it came along with it, almost like déjà vu…

I turned around and frantically turned on the light to see my reflection. Right there, on my neck, where a half hand print now lay, was a tiny hole of which blood was still coming out of. I stood there, gapping at the sight of my reflection.

I felt that déjà vu again. Why was this so familiar- Oh yeah. That's right. I somehow got bit on that first date that Aaron and I had months ago. And I felt that same pain when I was at the theater…

I saw something move behind me and saw Aaron look into the reflection to me with a regretful and solemn yet serious look on his face. His lips were a thin line, and his dark violet eyes seemed to have aged slightly.

I looked up at him, the previous conversation coming back to me:

"_I'm a vampire."_

I snorted, trying to keep my composure despite me bleeding. Yeah, right. Nice try there, buddy.

"If you're trying to make me believe that you're one of those supernatural things that creep out in the night and whatever, nice try," I scoffed. "You know I'm not easily that persuaded."

The look on his face then pulled my heart strings. His expression softened, and he truly looked like he was hurt by that statement. I wanted to turn around and hold his face in my hands and tell him that I was sorry, I didn't mean that; let's go back to what we were doing just seconds before and forget all of this. But I mentally shook my head and remembered that he was trying to pull some joke on me.

"I'm not trying to pull any jokes on you… You have to believe me."

I blinked, forgetting about the whole 'people reading' whatever, but decided to not get angry about it again. "Look, you know that I know that vampires don't exist; they _can't_ exist. If they did, which I highly doubt they have, we would've wiped them out of existence centuries ago because that's how we humans are- we're arrogant, rude, have a high ego, and want nothing else to exist but us and whatever we need. I thought I had a conversation with you about this already; you know I don't like repeating myself, so why are you bringing it up again now?"

I went to go cross my arms across my chest when I remembered I was wearing a white jacket with a minor wound and a bloody hand and I went to go grab the paper towels that were for some reason in the bathroom. (I never did understand homes that had paper towels in their bathrooms; I mean, _really_, why use paper towels when you can use a bathroom towel? It's cheaper and more eco-friendly.)

Aaron's expression was still pained but he kept a serious tone and a thin blanket to try and cover the pain up. "I know we have, Audrey, I know… And I understand where you're coming from. But you're going to have to believe me; maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow or the day after, but eventually you will, you have to…"

I rolled my eyes as I dabbed the paper towel under the water and onto my neck. "Yeah, and pigs will start to fly and unicorns will come out of my ass."

"Well actually…"

"Oh God, don't tell me you're going to try and sell to me that flying pigs exist, too?"

"Of course they don't."

I sighed in relief.

"… Well, the flying pigs don't, but the unicorns-"

"You have got to be kidding me!" I turned around to face with an irritated and exasperated look. "Seriously, Aaron? Seriously?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! No need to shout-"

"No! I won't," I continued shouting, forgetting all of the pleasure I was previously encountering and being filled once more with anger. "You're trying to tell me that these fairy tale shits exists and trying to piss me off, and for your information it's working! I don't know what you're hiding or what you're trying to gain from this, but this," I pointed to my neck, "is not funny! And it's not the first time either! I remember you doing something like this on our first date," his angry expression grew to one of surprise and confusion for a split second before returning to anger, "and I don't know how you made this but you really-"

His lips drew a thin line again and he wrapped one arm around me and another hand to cover my mouth. "Now listen to me, and listen to me closely," he started as I grabbed his hand with both of mine to try and pull his off of me, muffling curse words and insults. "I know that you don't believe me, and that's fine for now, but that is _no_ reason to go on and yell like that. You're going to attract more than my family up here with that racket, and I don't need any more trouble than I already have now."

I started having a hard time breathing, causing loud, hateful shallow breaths to come from my nostrils. So I'm trouble now? I venomously thought.

"I know you don't believe me, and I know you're not going to anytime soon, but eventually you're going to have to, and I thought you should know that now before it's too late and you have no idea what you're dealing with."

I narrowed my eyes at him and continued to take shallow breaths, each one getting quicker and quicker as I had a harder time trying to breathe only through my nostrils.

He took a deep breath as if he was going to say something else, then just held it and let it go out slowly as he searched into my eyes, as if he's looking for something in them, but I'm sure all he saw was the rage that was continuing to grow in me as he continued to hold me as if I was a hostile hostage of some sick kidnapping scheme.

Slowly, however, he softened his hard and angry gaze on me and reluctantly let his hand off of my mouth. Even though I desperately needed to breathe through my mouth, I couldn't, neither did I really want to. My mouth formed a very, very small, thin line despite the fullness of my lips as fury filled me to the very bone so that I was clenching my hands to fists, which I hadn't noticed I had placed by my side until that moment. I gave him the best glare I could give him without burning holes into his handsome face.

We stood there, just glowering in rage and anger, mainly from me, for a good five minutes until Aaron broke the tension with a heavy sigh. "I know you're upset," he began with a soft voice, (The hell you do, I thought venomously to myself) "but you have to know that I am not bluffing, or trying to mind fuck you, ok?"

I blinked and flinched for a split second in surprise that he actually said 'fuck' but retained my composure a millisecond later and continued glaring at him, but not as harsh as before due to getting caught off guard. I mean, sure he curses, but he doesn't really say 'fuck' unless he's really worked up about something or pissed off. I couldn't decide which one it was that he said that for.

He continued staring at me, almost unemotionally now; almost because I could feel his emotions: Anger, hurt, irritation, frustration…

"I know you don't believe me, and I won't say it again, but I will clarify that I am one of those blood-sucking creatures that go around in the middle night, as you said, drinking people's blood; you may not believe me now, but you will. One day, you will."

And before I could open my mouth to reject he left the bathroom and stormed down the stairs.

I stood there, my mouth slightly ajar and my fists clenched, the wet paper towel still attached to my neck and now dripping down to my collar bone...

I stood there until I heard Aaron stomp down the stairs and hear the door creak open then close with a loud 'bang', and even then I continued standing there, staring off into the blandness of the wall. A moment later I breathed in sharply and huffed, turning back to the mirror quickly and ripping the paper towel off my neck. It had taken most of the blood away, but now the rag was red and was useless, creating droplets of watery red dots to roll down my neck and down to my white jacket and black dress. I took another paper towel, ripping it unevenly by accident so that I tore off some of the bottom of the next square as well as the square I was trying to rip off, and folded it neatly before dabbing it gently on my neck.

I truly wasn't sure why I wasn't freaking out about me bleeding, or why I wasn't too much earlier when Aaron had entered the bathroom. I guess it's because of how worked up I am, or because I know I might need to expect seeing more blood soon because I was going to see plenty of it for a week. I really can't explain that… Feeling of lust, either, or where it came from, and how it affected both myself and Aaron. But most of all, I can't understand why he feels so strongly about wanting me to believe that… _They_ exist and that he's a… _That_.

Even thinking about thinking the word bothers me and feels so… Foreign…

_Vampire…_

I shook my head and frowned at my reflection in the mirror as I tilted my head to get a better look at my neck. A single, small dot remained on my neck, and it seemed that it had barely punctured my skin. It wasn't anything to really worry about, in fact I realized that the reason why it looked so bad was because my hand had smeared the small amount of blood that had already started to come out of the wound. I leaned my hands against the counter and stared at myself: My countenance, my make-up, my neck, my hair, my dress, my arms…

I stared at every minor detail about me until I finally stared at my eyes, which were a mix of colors of dark forest green, stormy grey, and dark blue. I blinked at the darkness of my eye color, and magically I saw my eyes shift to a lighter color and the grey disappear. Huh, I'm going to have to ask Andie if my eyes are those colors usually when I'm angry or flustered…

I closed my eyes and sighed, letting my head drop so that my chin was close to touching my chest, and the back of my neck and back muscles were stretching at the same time in quiet pleasure. (Proof that I've been stressed lately.) I opened my eyes are stared blankly at my legs, taking in the sight of one leg supporting my weight and the other bent.

I'm not sure how long I just stood there like that, stretching my neck, staring at my feet with the bathroom door wide open. At one point, the leg I was standing on for so long grew stiff and I had to switch legs due to my discomfort. While I stood there, I thought. I thought about Aaron, his parents, his 'truth', his words, our conversation.

And then a sudden thought hit me hard enough to make me look up and look at my reflection, which reflected sadness and a guilty conscience. That was the first fight that we have had in our relationship. Oh God, I thought, and I suddenly felt the pit of my stomach drop and my face twisted into a look of despair. Our first fight, and it was over something as stupid as vampires… I'm a terrible, awful person…

I hung my head again and bit my lower lip. As I thought about it more, I cringed at the thought that it was my fault, too, that we had gotten into this fight. If I hadn't scoffed… If I hadn't been such a bitch… And we fought not once but _twice _over it… God, I'm such an idiot! I brought one hand to cover my eye with my palm and gritted my teeth.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! You should know better than that!

I shook my head once and stomped my free foot, rubbing the palm of my hand deeper into my closed eye.

Stupid!

I sighed and released my hand from my pained eyeball to slam it on the counter and hung my head again, sulking. Fuck, what should I do?

I tapped my index finger obnoxiously on the counter as I rattled my brain for answers.

What should I do?

What would Andie do?

What would _Kylie_ do?

I let that last question linger in my mind for a bit and I pursed my lips. What would Kylie do… I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to think of the most obvious answer. I tapped my index finger impatiently, waiting and wanting the answer to pop up already.

After a few moments, the simplest and most reasonable answer came to mind and I wanted to hit myself for not realizing this earlier: She would apologize to him.

I sighed again and tried to run my hand through my hair to remember it's in a braid and I half sighed, half groaned in frustration. Looking in the mirror, I saw that I had what looked like to be four uneven, disheveled rows at the crown of my hair. I repeated my half sighing, half groaning sound but louder and undid the band that was keeping my braid from falling apart, tossing my braid over my left shoulder. I tilted my head to the right and started to unbraid it, watching my reflection mimic my moves and quick fingers swiftly take apart the thick strands of hair.

I realized how amazing it was that I could take apart a braid and put it back together so quickly while not letting a single strand of hair stray from its' pack, and without the help of Kylie. Perhaps that's a skill that could be needed, something that I'm very talented at and needs more people in the world to help braid and unbraid hair. Maybe I should be a hair stylist…

I paused for a moment as I pondered whether I should consider being that or a zoologist like I have been planning, my hand unconsciously running through my now free hair. Braiding is hard to do… But to be a stylist, you have to do much more than that, I'm sure. Kylie then came to mind and her magic of somehow turning hair that looks like a birds nest into a beautiful masterpiece and I shook my head, deciding I wouldn't do that and that I should just stick being a zoologist.

I looked up at my hair again, its normal slightly wavy self being more than usual due to being in a braid and the one red dot on the left side of my neck, just barely visible… I gazed at it in wonder and fascination, and Aaron's words came back to mind:

"_I'm a vampire."_

This time, however, I didn't laugh or scoff, making me rather happy at that thought. I knew they didn't, and don't, exist but he seemed so serious… Poor Aaron… He went to tell me something he felt was important and I laughed right at his face. I felt that feeling in my stomach again as dread filled me, the feeling of something twisting in me and dropping and twisting over and over again. God, I'm a terrible person… And we fought over something as serious as believing in vampires…

… Wait… Something as serious as- what? Vampires…? … Did I seriously think that…? Oh God, let me think this out… And get it straight… So… We had an argument… A fight… Over whether vampires… Or rather if Aaron is… A vampire…? … What the hell is wrong with me?

I gave myself a long, irritated look that clearly showed I was annoyed with myself in the mirror. Wow. I can't believe we fought over something so insipid… Just… Wow.

I sighed and continued parting my hair into three sections. Well, even if _I_ think it's stupid, it matters to Aaron… And if he thinks he's one, then it's all right with me, I guess… I wonder if Twilight really struck him or if he just believes in them and that he's one of them. (I'm hoping for the second one… Or if a vampire book really did strike him, it was because of Interview With The Vampire and not Twilight.)

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I finished up my braid and thought to myself encouragingly, Ok, so here's the plan: I'll go downstairs, ask to speak to Aaron privately, and apologize to him there for laughing at him and causing us to fight (twice), and that if he wants me to believe that they exist then- never mind, scratch that last part. Just, apologize for fighting with him and not believing in him; he'll be ok with that. (I think/hope.)

I finished wrapping the band around the tip of my braid numerous of times and tossed my braid over my shoulder and onto my back, my braid once again looking brilliant and perfect. Smiling encouragingly, I checked myself for imperfections and held my chin high in pride before exiting the bathroom elegantly, turning off the light and closing the door behind me before walking down the stairs quietly and slowly.

As I reached the doors that opened into the dining room, I took a long, deep breath. You can do this, I thought to myself. You can do this.

I heard a few voices inside the room and I stopped at the doors, taking another deep breath. You can do this. I raised my hand to grab the door knob and open the door just as I heard the voices laugh at something- wait, there's a fourth voice. And it's female. And high pitched. I listened to that particular voice laugh like chimes in the wind against Irene's bell-like laugh, Ambrose's deep laugh, and Aaron's chuckle.

I felt a strange pain, then, in my chest, and it hurt me a lot. I rubbed where the pain was, hoping it would go away but it insisted on staying there, getting worse as I continued listening to the laughter. I felt as if someone had stabbed me in the chest, or if someone had placed a broken piece of glass there and it broke again. I couldn't describe what I was feeling, what emotion… I knew it had to be emotion, I knew it had to be. But, which one? And I wondered if this one was perhaps this wasn't mine, if it was perhaps someone else's who were in the room…

I took another deep breath and felt sharp immediate pain as soon as I did so. Trying to ignore it, I calculated that I was gone approximately for about half an hour to forty five minutes. How to explain that one, I thought to myself sarcastically. I drew in a long, deep breath again and grabbed the door knob, turning it to open and walk inside.

* * *

**_A/N: I am SO sorry guys for the long wait! I've been super busy, AND I've been editing and re-editing this chapter for WEEKS. I wasn't really satisfied with this chapter and re-did it a few times to my liking, and to be honest I'm still not happy with it, but I'm just going to go and release it for you guys anyway because it's better than how it was before and I know you've been waiting on this for a while. :))_**

**_Tell me of ANY errors, please! If you don't get something, ask me! And thank you guys for being loyal. You all get a cookie. :) ~_**

**_A/N Update: ... For the first time... I'm actually pretty satisfied with this... I mean it gets a little close to 'M' at a particular part but wow... I'm quite pleased. But, you let me know your thoughts, and I'll have a new chapter up within a week and a half. Thanks again for those who have been loyal and for those who are new. You are all awesome. ~_**


	18. CHAPTER 17: Forgiveness?

**CHAPTER 17: Forgiveness?**

It was as if I had been gone for only a minute or two.

Irene was the first to notice me when I walked in, smiling and saying that I came in just in time for dessert, which was vanilla ice cream with strawberries and syrup with the choice of chocolate syrup. (It was the best thing I've tasted in a long time, despite how simple the dish was.)

Ambrose was the second to notice me, and though he acted as if I had been gone for just a moment, he continually looked like he was going to say something with a sly and look upon his countenance before being shot a look by Irene (what for I could only imagine).

The second woman in the room was Aaron's sister, Emma, and I could tell they were related by just looking at her (unlike his parents and his brother). She had similar violet eyes to Aaron's, only hers was bluer and much darker of a color than his. She was also pretty tall, taller than me by maybe an inch or two, but had the physique of an athlete, slender enough to be a model but muscular enough to show she can kick some ass. Their noses were similar, as well, only hers was more slender. The only difference that could be really seen between her and her brother was that she has dirty blond wavy hair, her face was heart shaped, and, obviously, she was a different gender than him.

For some reason, something about her kept triggering something in my head, something about danger but… I could never put my finger on it, and couldn't understand why I'd feel this way towards someone so sweet. (Another difference between the two siblings was her personality, which was not at all sarcastic and was much more innocent and polite. She reminded me of a Disney princess in the sense that she was gorgeous, was proper in manner and language, and was so… Nice. She wasn't at all the bad ass Aaron wanted to seem like he was.)

The only thing that really bugged me and ate me up the most was how Aaron seemed to ignore me the moment I walked into the room. He glanced at me for a brief second then looked back to his sister and quietly ate his dessert. Though I still sat next to him (originally Emma was in my seat but she got up the moment I walked in to hug and greet me and introduce herself and insisted that I sat next to 'my brothers true love' and sat to my right while Aaron was on my left) he never once glanced at me or even tried to touch me, which I never thought could happen.

One thing I found out but didn't realize until later when we started dating was how much he loved physical contact. Whether it was a graze of a hand or a brush on my back or a kiss on my head he loved touching me.

At first I was a little mistrusting of all this touching business but of course I allowed him to do it anyway until I finally had asked him about two weeks into our relationship.

I found out the reason why was because he loved the feeling of someone being close to him, feeling someone else's warmth other than his own. It reminded him that he was alive and with someone he knew he cared about was alive as well. Touching me in some way or form was his way of showing how much he cared about my existence, basically, and I had decided that, even though I didn't like to be touched very much, it was sweet and I would be fine with this type of affection, which I learned to like as well.

Now that he wasn't even trying to touch me though… It made me wonder just how mad he is at me.

At one point I had asked where Joseph was, seeing that his entire family wasn't here. Irene seemed to have sighed deeply while Ambrose explained that he was mad at both he and his mother because they didn't agree on an issue ("Really it was his hormones," Irene added dryly, which I didn't know was possible from someone who looked so polite) and had decided he would sleep over his friends house tonight and blow off some steam. I had glanced over to Aaron to see if there would be a reaction from him and found that he was still giving a blank stare to nothing.

At the end of the night, I became more comfortable with Aaron's family (even Ambrose) than I did with him since I came back from the bathroom. I even got along with Luna, who is the second most adorable dog on the planet (Marcy is the first).

She was a greyhound mix with possibly a lab, but I couldn't really tell. She was about an inch taller than my knees with dark grey fur, a long, lean body, a thin tail, and the head of a Labrador, floppy hears and all. She seemed almost awkwardly positioned, with big paws and thing legs. In fact, almost everything about her was slender and lean but her head and paws, and that made her clumsy and even more adorable.

I found that her weak spot was the spot above her tail and when I scratched there she stopped everything she was doing, including panting, and laid right there on the floor, her puppy face looking like she was about to fall asleep. I would've pet her for hours if Emma hadn't waved a treat to her face.

"Come on, Luna," she chimed, "it's time for bed for you."

Luna immediately sat up, her attention all on the dog biscuit in her hand, and sat down, only the tip of her slender long tail wagging as she silently begged for the treat. I giggled as Emma walked away, a drooling Luna following her loyally.

I found myself once again looking to Aaron, wanting to see some sort of reaction from him.

Nothing.

Not even a smirk, a blink of an eye, a shake of his head… Nothing.

I thought I would be annoyed by now, but surprisingly enough, I became more worried about him instead.

My thoughts were more concentrated on how I would apologize for picking a fight with him and how I would phrase it the entire night. Every once in a while I would think about Aaron and worry about him or I would think about how similar yet so different Emma was to her brother or how much Ambrose and Irene truly loved each other and would wonder if my parents loved each other the same way or if my parents would be like them if father didn't have to travel so much.

In other words, I thought more than I was mentally with the family, and I couldn't help but wonder if Aaron's 'people reading' thing was able to catch all of these racing thoughts.

I heard a small sound behind me, like someone exhaled sharply through their nose. Frowning, I turned around, wondering who it was and saw Aaron's blank expression staring into wall to the left of him near the front door. I blinked, thinking if he had… I shook my head and stood up, watching Emma come back Luna-less.

"Luna is so silly sometimes," she giggled. "She was trying to get the biscuit and ended up falling on her face. I swear she has her brilliant moments and her silly moments." I couldn't help but giggle as well, her happiness being so high I soaked it in.

"But, alas," she sighed, "I have to work at 8 AM tomorrow morning… I really don't like waking up early but if they need me for stock I'm willing to make some dough.

"So, with that," she smiled brightly and pulled me into a tight embrace. "It was so lovely to finally meet you! I swear Aaron has been hiding you from us and preventing us from hanging out but…"

She pulled away and winked at me, her arms still wrapped around me. "I'll make sure he brings you over here more often so we can do stuff together… When I'm not working I mean."

I laughed and hugged her again. "It was really nice meeting you too, Emma. I have to be honest I was a little nervous on meeting you guys at first-"

She pulled back quickly, her hands gripping my shoulders. "Is it because of Aaron?"

I blinked a few times, stuttering, "U-um, what?"

She rolled her eyes. "He probably said something that freaked you out, didn't he? That sounds just like him! Aaron! Get over here-"

"No! No!" I intercepted, stepping into her way from storming to Aaron. For someone as cute and sweet as a Disney princess, she can get pretty aggressive… "No, it was nothing that he said, I promise."

She raised an eyebrow at me. Seriously, why can everyone do that _but me? _"You promise?"

I sighed with a smile, chuckling, "Yes, I promise."

"He never said anything bad about me that made you nervous?"

I paused for a second and recalled the one time he mentioned her and called her as big of an ass as he was but still was able to answer honestly, "No, he never did. I promise."

She gave me a skeptical look from a side glance, the left side of her face facing me and her lips pursed. She is certainly a character, I thought to myself. She shifted her gaze to the space above my head and glanced back down to me, finally changing her skeptical look to a playful one with a smile.

"All right, if you say so," she concluded and put her hands on her hips. "But you let me know if he ever says anything to scare you away from us! I'll make sure he learns his lesson. Just in case," she took out a slip of paper that was in her jeans pocket and handed it to me. "That's my number. Just give me a call if you're ever in a stitch, even if it isn't Aaron related."

I took the paper politely and looked at the number before looking back up at her. "Thank you so much… I'll definitely try to come over whenever I can. You all seem like such nice people."

She gave me a half surprised, half skeptical look. "Really? Even our dad?"

"Yes, even your dad," I laughed.

Emma gave me an interesting look then, one that seemed to look through me in a way, as if trying to see past me… It only lasted a second or so, however, and she smiled and rested one of her hands on my shoulder. "You be safe now," she murmured quietly, and she started walking to the right of me towards the living room and the stairs.

Before she reached the double doors, however, she turned around. "Oh, and Aaron? Please use a condom. I don't want to be an aunt anytime soon and she's too smart to have a kid now." With that she smiled and walked past the doors and up the stairs.

I should have known Ambrose would have affected one of his children. I just expected Emma to be the last person he does it to.

I heard a soft groan and turned to Aaron who was rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassment all over his countenance. I bit back the huge grin I wanted to do so badly and instead looked at him questioningly.

His violet orbs raised themselves to meet mine for the first time in hours and we stared at each other. I observed how his expression never really changed, staying stoic like and preventing to show any emotion. Except for his eyes. He has never been able to prevent emotion from showing through his eyes… Maybe that's why he refused to look at me all night…

I couldn't see anything through my empathic link, but I was able to see some pain, anger, and, though only a little bit, guilt, though what for I couldn't think of why. Except maybe…

"Come on," he whispered, his lips not moving at all, and he broke eye contact to open the door and hold it open for me.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to read what he was thinking, but for the first time, I couldn't read anything, not even emotion.

I nodded and walked past him, murmuring a thank you as I approached his car. As I was reaching to grab the door handle I saw another hand beat me to it and open it for me.

Our hands brushed each other for a moment, and perhaps because we hadn't touched each other in so long or maybe because my hormones were acting up again but I felt electricity run from where our hands touched up my arm and down my spine, causing me to shiver.

I looked up to him and saw that he was keeping his gaze downwards and away from my view. I felt that similar pang from earlier in my chest and thanked him again as I slid into the passenger's side of his car. The moment I sat down and kept everything to myself he slammed the door softly and walked around the back to get to the driver's side. At least he's still being a gentleman, I thought to myself. Sort of.

I heard the door open for a brief moment before closing again, the sound of the night being shut down with it into painful silence. I kept my gaze to my hands on my lap, knowing that this was going to be a quiet car ride home.

For a moment, there was only the sound of silence and the sound of my quiet, steady breath. I quickly ran through a list in my head of everyone I said good bye to, and confirmed that the only person I missed was Joseph (who wasn't there). I was even able to say good bye to Luna. How is it going to be with Aaron? I quiet voice asked. I gave it a silent answer, not knowing if there was going to be one at this rate.

Just as I was wondering why the car hadn't started yet the engine roared to life and started moving from its parking spot parallel to the house to the road ahead. I gave a sideways glance to Aaron, who was driving in his usual relaxed way but still with the stoic countenance. I sighed inwardly and looked back to my hands, suddenly realizing that even if I did apologize, he would still be like this, and might be like this for a while.

The hand that touched him was burning, wanting to be touched again. Usually we held hands or had our hands close to each other when we drove. I glanced at his hands, one gripping the steering wheel while the other was resting casually on the gear shift. I fought the temptation to rest my hand on his and kept mine bunched into my dress instead.

After what seemed to have taken forever, I glanced through the window to see that we reached the street I lived on.

Ok, I thought to myself, this is what's going to happen. Aaron will probably stay the same way he's been tonight. One of two things will happen. He will either remain as the gentleman he's been keeping up to be and give me a kiss good night, though not the usual one, or he will murmur 'good night' to me and drive his not-so-merry way. Either way, I can't push it. I need to give him the space he wants and has been giving himself all night. If I push it… Well… I don't know what will happen… I don't want to threaten our relationship anymore than I have already… Why do I have to be such a bitch sometimes? I mean, really? I couldn't have just stayed quiet and enjoyed the rest of the evening? Did I really have to ruin it? Really Audrey? Well, what's done has been done, and the only thing left to do now is to give him the space he wants-

I felt a hand grip the right side of my chin and jaw, their hand covering most of my cheek, and pull me to face whoever was to my left. I gasped quietly as I came face to face with Aaron's amused violet eyes. "You think too much," he murmured softly, his hand adjusting itself to cover the right side of my face and ear, brushing his thumb across the skin next to my nose and under my eye.

I couldn't help but feel ecstatic that he was touching me again and smile. I opened my mouth to say something back, but found that I had nothing to say and closed it again.

Aaron continued to observe me, his thumb still rubbing my cheek. After a moment, he shifted his hand to the back of my neck, underneath my braid, and politely started to pull me in.

I obliged immediately, ignoring the plan I had made previously to give him the space he 'wanted', and nearly threw myself on him, wrapping my arms around him, one around his neck and the other under his arm and across his back to his other shoulder, to bring myself closer to him. He stiffened for a brief second in total surprise before he finally relaxed and moved himself with me, deepening the kiss and causing pleasurable shivers down my spine.

I didn't have a clue if this was his way of releasing his anger at me, or if he was accepting the apology I hadn't said yet, or something that I did or said (which I doubt highly), but I didn't care. All I cared about was that he was touching me, kissing me, showing his care for me again, and that alone made me the happiest person ever.

He pulled back from our kiss, a soft and wet 'smack' made in the process, and I opened my eyes again despite my own wishes. His violet eyes were still amused, but another emotion was hiding behind it, causing his eyes to be a darker purple than usual and for me to bite my lower lip in anticipation, remembering the last time his eyes were like this not that long ago.

We stared at each other like this for some time, his hands tangled in my braid near my neck and dangerously near my inner thigh, my own hands bunch behind his neck and in his shirt on his back. It wasn't painful like before though. This time, it was comforting, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

"You shouldn't tear yourself up like that."

I blinked, furrowing my eyebrows and wondering what he was talking about.

He shifted his hand that was tangled into my braid (with some difficulty) and had it on my cheek again, softly brushing repeatedly along my cheek bone. I shifted my own hand from the back of his neck to the top of his chest, fiddling with the buttons of his dress shirt with my thumb.

"Like what?" I asked quietly.

He smiled softly and leaned in to kiss the tip of my nose. I inhaled sharply and held it for a second before exhaling slowly when he drew back and rested his forehead against my own.

"You know what."

I blinked slowly and sighed quietly, not even trying to hide it. I didn't think he knew this because of his 'people reading' thingy but because he just knew me that well… Most people would think that I wanted to fight, that I didn't regret anything. Even Andie would think so. But Aaron…

He smiled wider and rubbed the tip of his nose against my own, his thumb no longer rubbing my cheek. He stopped and stared into my eyes for a moment before finally saying, "You've always been so hard on yourself… Not everything is your fault love."

I sighed and pulled away from him, shaking my head. "Yeah but this time… This time it was because of me." I gazed up at Aaron guiltily, his hand resting on my knee now. "I shouldn't have said any of those things. It was mean and inconsiderate and… Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a bitch but I am and-"

"Hey, hey," Aaron held my face in both of his hands, tears welling in my eyes and getting ready to spill. "You are not a bitch, ok? You're no more a bitch than I am a bad ass and you weren't being mean at all, you were being honest, which I would prefer any day. Please don't cry…"

God, I hate being hormonal, I thought angrily to myself as I tried to stop tears from falling. His thumbs wiped away any stray tears as he whispered comforting words. He moved the container that was between us upwards with one hand and scooted closer to me, his legs pressing against my own as he unbuckled my seatbelt and his hand returned to its place.

"Please don't cry," he whispered, kissing the tip of my nose. "Please don't cry."

I laughed dryly, making a 'Ha-ah' sound, and gave a sarcastic smile, looking upwards. You're an ass, you know that? I thought angrily to the man upstairs.

I felt a strand of hair be tucked behind my right ear as kisses lined down my jaw and down my neck. He stopped momentarily, as if silently asking for permission, before softly kissing the spot that he had been at earlier that night.

Something about him kissing at that spot sent sparks throughout my body and I almost melted in pleasure.

"Please don't cry," he whispered again, and he kissed the same spot again.

I moved my hands from my sides to his chest and the back of my neck as my eyes fluttered close, my right hand scratching slowly where his hairline was. At this action, any tears left fell down my cheeks and I wiped them away with my left hand. He lifted his head from my neck and kissed where my tears had just fallen before placing a soft and delicate kiss on my lips. He pulled back and stared into my eyes for a moment, and I found myself swimming in his dark, caring, violet eyes, feeling like I could stare at them forever…

"Are you still crying?" he softly asked.

I laughed, giving a genuine laugh, and looked back at him. "Does it look like I am?"

He sagged a little in relief, giving one his adoring smiles. "Hey, I have to ask. Sometimes you are and I don't even know it."

I giggled again, and rested my hand against his face. My smile faded a little though as I decided now was the time to say it. "I'm sorry."

His grin turned into a small smile as he replicated my movements. "For what?"

"I didn't mean to start a fight… I don't like fighting with you."

His smile widened a little as he shifted himself to look at me better. "Yeah, I don't like fighting with you either. Unless it's with my tongue."

I smacked his chest as his smile broadened and he laughed. "There's the Audrey I know and love."

I laughed too, shaking my head at him. "You would say something like that, wouldn't you?"

He chuckled before looking back at me. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, too… I don't know what I was thinking…"

My lips pursed in thought as I fiddled with his shirt buttons again. "You wanted to share something you believed was important to me. You shouldn't be sorry for that. Even though I…"

I paused for a moment, trying to find the right words without creating another fight. "… Have my doubts, whatever you believe is important, it's important to me, too. And how I acted wasn't the right way of showing it. So… You shouldn't be apologizing. Don't be sorry."

He seemed to be searching for something in my eyes, maybe sincerity or something like that, and when he found what he was looking for he smiled and kissed my lips briefly before looking back into my eyes. "I am as guilty as you are. I fed the fire, in some sense, and just as I am forgiving you…"

He lowered his head and before I could tell what he was going to do or what he was going to say next I felt something wet at the spot on my neck and shivered. "… I expect you to do the same for me."

Oh dear Jesus, I thought as he caressed my neck with his tongue and I swear to God if stopped right now…

And he did. The bastard.

I gripped his shirt angrily as he smiled against me. "I'm waiting," he half sang. "All you have to say are three simple words. I…"

He kissed my neck again and I had to force myself to keep focus.

He stopped again, and my annoyance level rose. "Come on, you can say it," he chimed.

I bit back a growl and started, "How about 'I hate you'? Or 'I think you're a dick'?"

He made a clucking sound with the roof of his mouth. "That was five words, and not the three words I'm waiting for. Come on, you can say it with me."

He softly kissed the spot on my neck and I shivered again. "I…"

He half kissed, half sucked on my neck next, and I could've swooned then and there in pleasure. "Forgive…"

Finally he nipped at my neck and I couldn't bite back the soft moan that escaped from me, "You…"

He pulled back carefully and gazed into my eyes, observing the almost desperate plea in my eyes, my choppy breaths, and my clenched fist in his shirt. "That was one of the three," he murmured.

I continued staring at him with that same look for a moment before answering, "How about this for the other two words?" and fiercely kissed him, attacking his lower lip.

I'm pretty sure he agreed to those terms because he kissed me back just as fiercely, only this time undoing my braid to have a better placing at the back of my neck. Both of my arms wrapped underneath his arms and around his back, bunching into his shirt, while his other hand flitted between my lower back and my hip.

Could this apology get any better? I thought to myself.

For now, no, a small voice answered.

Deciding on ignoring what the voice meant by that response, I slid one of my hands down his back while my other one found refuge in his hair. I felt a slight tug at the back of my head and I tilted my head back slightly, giving Aaron a chance to attack my neck again.

Just as I was enjoying myself, my nails scratching his back softly through his shirt, I heard a knock on the car window.

I froze, and felt Aaron freeze on top of me, his mouth still on my neck. I was afraid to know who was knocking at the window, though mum would be the lesser of the evils. Another impatient series of knocks told me it wasn't her.

Aaron removed himself from me (much to my dismay) and looked behind me to see who was knocking, only to widen his eyes and pale. That can't be good, I thought to myself, and decided to turn around and see for myself who was knocking at the window and sighed somewhat in relief.

There, in his Superman boxers and a white undershirt, was Andie playing overprotective twin brother. I glared at him and made a mental note for later to prank him for disrupting the moment Aaron and I were having.

"It's past your curfew," Andie said, his voiced being muffled by the glass. "Out. Now."

I was getting ready to say a snide remark when I felt Aarons hand rest on my own. "Actually, I'd rather not die tonight, especially after I promised Emma she could hang out with us more, so with that…"

He leaned in and gave me a brief but passionate kiss on my lips. To spite my brother, I grabbed onto Aarons shirt and kept our kiss to last a few seconds more. I felt uneasiness seep into me and Andie's anger almost overwhelmed me. Now that's more like what I should be feeling, I thought to myself, glad that I was linked to Aaron's emotions again.

"Talk to you tomorrow?" I asked.

He smiled brightly, "Of course, love. Good night."

I smiled back. "Good night." I pecked him once more on his cheek and finally unlocked and opened the car door.

"You know, when you're on dates with your girlfriends, I don't come down and knock on your window," I stated grumpily.

"You were in there for thirty minutes! I was getting worried," he tried to justify.

I watched Aaron fix himself up a little before putting on his seatbelt, smirking at me through the windshield at glances, and turn back on his car.

"Are you serious?" I asked, watching Aaron drive away, "I've let you be outside our house for two hours! _Two hours! _And I didn't even ask what you were doing that took so long!

"And the hell were you talking about curfew?" I asked, not allowing him to answer the past couple questions I asked as we walked down our hallway. "We haven't had one in years."

"I had to stop him from sucking on your neck like a vampire someway," he murmured.

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him for a moment.

He stopped in front of his room door, which was closed, and opened it sighing. "Well, you're home now from that bloodsucker. Maybe I should think about getting garlic and wooden stakes…"

At that thought he smirked to himself and bid me good night, closing the door behind him.

I remained where I had stopped, about a foot away from the entrance into my room.

_Like a vampire…_

He really believes it, doesn't he? That he is one…

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, my lips pursed and my fists clenching and unclenching. After deciding that I had thought about that enough for the night, I opened my door to my room and stumbled into my bathroom.

After washing my face of my makeup and tending to my wound (which wasn't bad at all but a hickie was seen _clearly_ in its place) in the bathroom, I changed into my pajamas in my bedroom and felt sleep already drowse me.

I yawned sleepily, my thoughts landing on anything it can grab hold on: The documentary, _The Cove_; the damn kid in chorus; Kylies bad chemistry joke ("'Oxygen and potassium enter a bar. The bartender asks how they are, they reply 'We're OK.'' Get it? OK? Ha!"); Emma and her Disney princess-ness and scary sexual connection Ambrose has; how adorable Luna was with the body of a greyhound but the face and paws of a lab. Finally, as I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts landed on the argument we had, and I realized that I really didn't know what to think of it.

The one and only thing I do know, I thought as sleep finally started taking over, is that they're definitely not real, despite how much Aaron wants to believe they are.

Just as sleep had taken me, I heard a small voice reply, Or are they?


End file.
